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MEDITATIONS 



PASSION 



LORD JESUS CHRIST 



BROTHER PHILIP 

SUPEEIOR-QENERAL OF THE BROTHERS OP THE CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS 



NEW AND REVISED EDITION 



Authorized English Version 



LA SALLE BUREAU OF SUPPLIES 

50 Second Street, New York 
1909 



-.1 

\sos 



•Mibil ©betat: 

REMIGIUS LAFORT, S. T. L., 

Censor Librorum. 
Oct. 19, 1909. 

flmptimatur: 

* JOANNES, 

Archiepiscopus Neo-Eboracensis. 
Oct. 22, 1909. 



Copyright, 1909, Peter Muth. 



)CU259088 



PKEFACE 

Meditation is the first of religious exercises; and the 
first of all subjects for meditation is the Passion of 
our Lord Jesus Christ. In the words of St. Francis de 
Sales, meditation always has for its object the love of 
God and the practice of virtue, and it is useful only in 
so far as it effectively leads thereto. How great, then, 
must be the profit to be derived from meditating on the 
sufferings and the death of Jesus ? What can be better 
adapted to excite in our hearts the love of God and grat- 
itude for his benefits? What can be more proper to 
maintain, develop, and strengthen the spirit of piety, 
courage in sacrifice, and a resolution to belong to God 
wholly and for ever ? 

Meditation on the Passion is an abundant source of 
most precious graces, a principle of that supernatural 
strength which renders the Christian patient and 
resigned in adversity, firm in combat with the enemies 
of salvation, and courageous in his war upon self. 

All the saints have experienced this; and they teach 
with St. Bonaventure that "pious meditation on the 
Passion of Jesus Christ delivers the Christian from all 
evil, draws down upon him all sorts of favors, procures 
for him the grace of God in this life, and becomes a 
pledge of immortal glory in the next." There is, there- 
fore, reason to believe that we are doing great service 
to our Brothers in presenting them with a series of sub- 
jects for meditation on the Passion of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. 

iii 



IV PREFACE 

Each subject comprises three parts : the consideration, 
or contemplation of the mystery; the application, or 
practical consequences that directly follow; and the 
prayer. We have chosen a sufficient number of subjects 
to allow not only one for each Friday of the year, but 
also some for the last two weeks of Lent ; for during this 
time we are specially bound, according to the spirit of 
the Church, to meditate on the sufferings and death of 
our Lord. 

In order that meditation on the Passion of Jesus 
Christ may produce its fruits, it is requisite, besides 
disposing ourselves by careful preparation: — 1, That 
we read the subject slowly and distinctly; 2, That we 
not only keep before us the greatness of him who suffers, 
but also that we ask for whom he suffers, what he suffers, 
and how he surfers; 3, That each one of us regards the 
Passion as having been suffered especially for himself, 
since the Savior would have done for even one man all 
that he has done for the whole human race. 

The sentiments which are most in accord with the 
subjects on which we meditate, and to which, conse- 
quently, we have appealed most frequently, are admira- 
tion and love of our Lord, gratitude for his benefits and 
sorrow for our faults. There would seem to be less 
need of varying the affections than of exciting strongly 
such as are fundamental and as may lead us most effect- 
ually to the practice of virtue. 

It has been our aim to keep to the subject under con- 
sideration, and to fix our eyes constantly on Jesus suffer- 
ing or dying for us. The exhortations serve merely to 
point out the direct practical consequences suggested by 
the spirit of the mystery under consideration. 



PREFACE V 

We have addressed ourselves to the heart rather than 
to the mind ; for it has seemed to ns more advantageous 
to draw such pictures as would captivate the imagination 
than to present such arguments as satisfy the intellect. 
Such are the principles that have guided us in compiling 
this little work. 

God grant that these meditations may be productive 
of good, that they may keep alive in our souls the spirit 
of prayer, and induce us to love our adorable Savior 
more and more ! Then we shall bless him for having 
inspired us to prepare them, and we shall rejoice at 
having contributed in some measure to make him 
known, loved, and glorified. 

BKOTHER PHILIP 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

First Meditation — The Passion in General . . 1 

Second Meditation — Jesus Goes from the Supper 

Eoom to the Garden of Olives .... 7 
Third Meditation — Sadness of Jesus in the Gar- 
den of Olives 13 

Fourth Meditation — Prayer of Jesus in the Gar- 
den of Olives 19 

Fifth Meditation — Jesus Sweats Blood and Water 25 
Sixth Meditation — The Sleep of the Apostles . 31 
Seventh Meditation — Courage of Jesus after His 

Prayer 37 

Eighth Meditation — The Kiss of Judas ... 43 
Ninth Meditation — Jesus Taken by the Jews . . 49 
Tenth Meditation — Jesus is Brought to Jeru- 
salem 55 

Eleventh Meditation — Jesus before Annas . . 61 
Twelfth Meditation — Jesus is Brought to Caiphas 67 
Thirteenth Meditation — Jesus before Caiphas . 73 
Fourteenth Meditation — Jesus Eeceives a Blow . 79 
Fifteenth Meditation — Jesus Accused by False 

Witnesses 85 

Sixteenth Meditation — Jesus is Condemned at 

the Tribunal of Caiphas 91 

Seventeenth Meditation — Jesus is Abused and 

Insulted in the House of Caiphas ... 98 
Eighteenth Meditation — St. Peter's Denial . . 104 
Nineteenth Meditation — Conversion and Penance 

of St. Peter , 110 

vii 



Vlll CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Twentieth Meditation — Jesus Shut up in a Dun- 
geon 116 

Twenty- first Meditation — Jesus is Brought before 

Pilate 122 

Twenty-second Meditation — Despair of Judas . 128 

Twenty-third Meditation — Causes of the Destruc- 
tion of Judas 134 

Twenty-fourth Meditation — Jesus before Pilate . 140 

Twenty-fifth Meditation — Jesus Interrogated as 

to His Boyalty 146 

Twenty-sixth Meditation — Silence of Jesus before 

Pilate 152 

Twenty-seventh Meditation — Jesus Sent to Herod 158 

Twenty-eighth Meditation — Jesus Sent Back by 

Herod to Pilate ......... 164 

Twenty-ninth Meditation — Jesus Placed on a Par 

with Barabbas 170 

Thirtieth Meditation — The Scourging .... 177 

Thirty-first Meditation — Jesus is Crowned with 

Thorns . . . 183 

Thirty-second Meditation — Jesus is Shown to the 

People . 189 

Thirty-third Meditation — The Jews Continue to 

Demand the Death of Jesus 195 

Thirty-fourth Meditation — Jesus is Condemned 

to Death 201 

Thirty- fifth Meditation — Jesus is Loaded with 

His Cross 207 

Thirty-sixth Meditation — Jesus Carries His Cross 213 

Thirty-seventh Meditation — Jesus Falls under 

the Weight of His Cross . . . . . . 219 



CONTENTS IX 

PAGE 

Thirty-eighth Meditation — Jesus Meets His 

Blessed Mother 225 

Thirty-ninth Meditation — Simon of Cyrene As- 
sists Jesus to Carry His Cross .... 231 

Fortieth Meditation — A Pious Woman Wipes the 

Face of Jesus 237 

Forty-first Meditation — Jesus Consoles the Holy 

Women 243 

Forty-second Meditation — Jesus Stripped of His 

Garments 249 

Forty-third Meditation — The Crucifixion . . 255 

Forty-fourth Meditation — Jesus Eaised on the 

Cross 261 

Forty-fifth Meditation — Jesus on the Cross . . 267 

Forty-sixth Meditation — Jesus Prays for His En- 
emies 273 

Forty-seventh Meditation — Jesus Promises Heav- 
en to the Good Thief 279 

Forty-eighth Meditation — Jesus Gives Us Mary 

for Our Mother 285 

Forty-ninth Meditation- — Abandonment of Jesus 

on the Cross 291 

Fiftieth Meditation — Jesus Suffering Thirst . . 297 

Fifty-first Meditation — Jesus Says : "All is Con- 
summated" 303 

Fifty-second Meditation — Jesus Commends His 

Soul to His Father 309 

Fifty-third Meditation — Jesus Dies on the Cross 315 

Fifty-fourth Meditation — The Body of Jesus 

Pierced by the Spear 321 

Fifty-fifth Meditation— -The Five Wounds . . 327 



X CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Fifty-sixth Meditation — Jesus is Taken Down 

from the Cross ......... 333 

Fifty-seventh Meditation — Jesus is Laid in the 

Tomb 339 

Fifty-eighth Meditation — The Sepulchre of Jesus 

Christ . 345 ■ 

Fifty-ninth Meditation — The Eesurrection of 

Jesus Christ . 351 

Sixtieth Meditation — Good Friday 357 

Sixty-first Meditation — Holy Saturday . . . 363 

Sixty-second Meditation — May 3 — Finding of the 

Holy Cross . . 369 

Sixty-third Meditation — First Sunday of July — 

The Precious Blood ....... 375 

Sixty-fourth Meditation — September 14 — Exal- 
tation of the Holy Cross 382 



MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

OF 

OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 

FIRST MEDITATION 
THE PASSION IN GENERAL 

Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and all things shall be ac- 
complished which were written by the prophets concerning 
the Son of man. — Luke xviii. 31. 

CONSIDEKATION 

In imitation of all the saints, let us make it our prin- 
cipal occupation to meditate upon the passion of Jesus 
Christ. Our divine Savior wishes it, the Church exhorts 
us to it in a thousand ways ; — moreover, this exercise is 
productive of abundant grace. 

Jesus Christ invites all men to nourish their minds 
and hearts with the memory of his passion. Even be- 
fore his coming, he would have it prefigured and foretold, 
that all men subject to the Old Law might contemplate 
the future august sacrifice by which they were to be re- 
deemed, and of which all other sacrifices were but pro- 
phetic symbols. 

He himself announced to his apostles and to all the 
Jewish people, that he was to suffer: "As Moses lifted 
up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of man be 

1 



2 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

lifted up." 1 "He must suffer many things, and be re- 
jected by this generation." 2 "Behold, we go up to Jeru- 
salem ; and all things shall be accomplished which were 
written by the prophets concerning the Son of man. For 
he shall be delivered to the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, 
and scourged, and spit upon; and after they have 
scourged him, they will put him to death." 3 

He wishes us to remember him, and his sufferings, 
and he manifests this desire to us through his Church. 
What does our loving Mother leave undone to remind 
us of the sorrow and ignominy that he endured for us ! 
She celebrates unceasingly the sacrifice of the altar, 
which is the continuation of that of Calvary ; she makes 
the sign of the cross the distinctive mark of her chil- 
dren; she keeps before their eyes the image of Christ 
crucified, and wishes it to be honored in every dwelling. 
By her saints, her devotions, and her ministers, she speaks 
to us incessantly of the sorrows of her divine Spouse. 

Let us strive to realize her intentions. Should not we 
religious above all others meditate on the Savior's pas- 
sion ? Every thing in the life which we have embraced, 
speaks to us of Jesus suffering: we have the crucifix 
constantly before our eyes; we have in our hands and 
carry about with us the sacred book which contains the 
narrative of his sorrows. 

Let us, then, reflect on this subject which is so su- 
premely important and so rich in fruits of salvation; 
and taking a general view of the passion, let us ask our- 
selves who it is that suffers, why he suffers, and from 
whom he suffers. 

He who suffers is the Incarnate Word of God. What 
^ohn iii. 14. 2 Luke xvii. 25. 3 Luke xviii. 31-33. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 3 

a mystery ! How can we recall it without being filled 
with astonishment and penetrated with awe? The 
Eternal, the King of heaven, descends to the very abyss 
of annihilation; he whom the angels adore, is the butt 
of mockery and derision ; the Holy of holies, the Author 
of life, endures every suffering, even death itself; the 
Incarnate Lord acts as our substitute, takes the chalice 
of divine justice, and drinks it to the dregs. how 
bitter is that chalice of woe which he drinks to satisfy 
for our sins ! In his soul he suffers sadness, fear, weari- 
ness, grief, desolation, dejection, shame, confusion, and 
all manner of anguish. 

In his body he suffers unheard-of pains. He is tightly 
bound; he is brutally dragged along; he is slapped and 
buffeted; he is cruelly scourged; he is crowned with 
thorns; he is burdened with the cross, then nailed to 
it, and after it is elevated he endures upon it three 
hours of mortal agony. 

He suffers from all sorts of persons : his people disown 
him and demand his death; one of his apostles betrays 
him, another denies him, all desert him. For him, there 
is no pity, no compassion. Earth and hell are leagued 
against him. Heaven seems to abandon him, for he 
cries out : "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken 
me ?" 1 It is, therefore, overwhelmed with pain and 
steeped in sorrow that he presents himself for our con- 
templation. 

If now we ask why he suffers so many ills, let us seek 
the reason in his divine heart which beats only with 
zeal for his Father's glory and with love for sinful 
men. 

x Matt. xxvii. 46. 



4 MEDITATIONS OK THE PASSION 

He suffers to glorify his heavenly Father and ac- 
complish his holy will. "Sacrifice and oblation thou 
didst not desire; then said I: 'Behold, I come. In 
the head of the book it is written of me that I should 
do thy will/ " 1 When about to give himself to his 
enemies, he says to his apostles: "But that the world 
may know that I love the Father, and as the Father 
hath given me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go 
hence." 2 

He suffers in order to satisfy for the sins of all men : 
He "hath delivered himself for us, an oblation and a 
sacrifice to God, for an odor of sweetness." 3 In him, 
"we have redemption through his blood, the remission 
of sins." 4 And David had said, "With the Lord there is 
mercy ; and with him plentiful redemption : and he shall 
redeem Israel from all his iniquities." 5 

Jesus Christ suffers that we may love him in return 
with all the love of which we are capable; and it is for 
this reason that, even though one tear of his would 
have been sufficient to wash away all the sins of men, he 
was pleased to endure all sorts of pain and to die a most 
cruel death. 

He suffers to cure men of the wounds made by sin, 
and to restore them to their former state. Our fall was 
caused by pride and disobedience; our restoration can 
be effected only by voluntary abasement and entire sub- 
mission to God. It is for this reason that our Lord so 
humbles himself that he can say: "I am a worm, and 
no man; the reproach of men, and the outcast of the 
people:" 6 and that after assuming the form of a slave, 

^s. xxxix. 7-9. 2 John xiv. 31. 3 Eph. v. 2. 

4 Col. i. 14. B Ps. cxxix. 7, 8. 6 Ps. xxi. 7. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 5 

"he humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, 
even the death of the cross." 1 

He suffers to teach us patience, forgiveness of in- 
juries, and devotedness even to our enemies; he suffers 
to give us a perfect example of all virtues, and to en- 
courage us to walk in his footsteps; he suffers to make 
us understand the great evil of sin, the cost of grace, 
and the value of our souls. 

APPLICATION 

Is it with our whole heart that we love Jesus, the 
divine victim of our redemption? He appears before 
us bruised, crowned with thorns, covered with blood, 
blinded with tears, fastened to a cross ; and, in this state, 
he says to us : "My son, give me thy heart !" 2 Can we 
refuse it to him? 

With the saints, let us compassionate his sufferings; 
tet us share his pain; let us weep over his affliction; but, 
at the same time, let us, as he exhorts us to do, grieve 
for our sins, which are the true cause of his passion. 

Let us gather the fruits of salvation which he has 
procured for us by his sacrifice ; let us apply his infinite 
merits to ourselves. Let this be our whole ambition. 
The graces that flow from the cross, purify, console, and 
strengthen the soul, and prepare it to celebrate in heaven 
the eternal nuptials of the Lamb, that has been slain for 
us. 

PEAYEE 

Jesus, who hast endured so much for the love of us, 
deign, I beseech thee, to enlighten my mind and touch 
Philip, ii. 8. 2 Prov. xxiii. 26. 



b MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

my heart, that, as I contemplate thy sufferings, I may 
comprehend, with all thy saints, the length, the breadth, 
the height, and the depth of thy charity, and that my 
soul may pour forth itself in tears of love, gratitude, and 
repentance ! 

Victim of my salvation, grant that after sharing 
in thy sufferings here, I may be united with thee here- 
after in thy glory. Amen. 

Eesume, page 382. 

Let us piously meditate on the Savior's passion. Let 
us ask ourselves: 

1. Who is it that suffers? 

2. What does he suffer in his body ? 

3. What does he suffer in his soul? 

4. Prom what does he suffer ? 

5. Why does he suffer? 

— Let each one of these considerations convince us 
that we should: 

1. Love Jesus Christ, who became a victim for us. 

2. Hate sin, the true cause of his immolation. 

3. Compassionate his sufferings for us. 

4. Bless him for his infinite generosity. 

5. Labor to apply to ourselves the merits of his 
sacrifice. 



SECOND MEDITATION 

JESUS GOES FROM THE SUPPER ROOM TO THE 
GARDEN OF OLIVES 

He went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron. 
— John xviii. 1. 

CONSIDEKATION 

Let us contemplate our adorable Savior after he has 
celebrated the Last Supper with his apostles. He has 
immolated and eaten with them the last figurative 
pasehal lamb; he has established the sacrifice of the 
altar; he has presented to them the consecrated bread 
and wine, saying : "This is my body, which shall be deliv- 
ered for you i" 1 "This is my blood of the new testament, 
which shall be shed for many." 2 And now the hour has 
come when the true paschal lamb is to be immolated; 
when the sacrifice of the cross, which that of the altar 
shall commemorate and continue, is to be accomplished ; 
when that adorable body which is the victim of our sal- 
vation is to be offered up, and that divine blood is to be 
shed, by which alone the remission of sins can be 
obtained. 

This is the night on which Jesus Christ is to give full 
liberty to the powers of darkness. His enemies are on 
the watch and are eager to seize him; the infamous 
Judas is with them, awaiting a favorable moment for 
betraying his divine Master. 

*1 Cor. xi. 24. 2 Matt. xxvi. 28. 

7 



8 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

But let us turn our eyes away from the traitor. Let 
us behold the eleven faithful apostles, who are filled with 
the deepest emotion after partaking of the supper of the 
New Law, and who press round their divine Master, 
listening with respect, love, and piety, to the words of 
life and charity that fall from his lips. 

What is written, he tells them, must be fulfilled in 
me : "He . . . was reputed with the wicked ;" * for what 
concerns me relates to its accomplishment. "Let not 
your heart be troubled. ... In my Father's house 
there are many mansions. . . . I go to prepare a place 
for you. I will come again and will take you to myself; 
that where I am you also may be. . . . 

"If you love me, keep my commandments, and I will 
ask the Father, and he shall give you another Paraclete, 
. . . the Spirit of truth. ... I will not leave you 
orphans; I will come to you. . . . The world seeth me 
no more ; but you see me. . . . 

"My peace I give to you. ... I go away, and I come 
again to you. . . . For the prince of this world cometh ; 
and in me he hath not anything. But that the world, 
may know that I love the Father, and as the Father 
hath given me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go 
hence." 2 

After these words, he journeys to the brook Cedron, 
which separates Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. 
On the way, he continues to instruct his apostles : "This 
is my commandment, that you love one another, as I 
have loved you. Greater love than this no man hath, 
that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are 
my friends if you do the things that I command you. 
^sai. liii. 12. 2 John xiv. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 9 

. . . These things I command you, that you love one 
another." * 

He tells them again that he is going to leave them, 
but that he will send them the Comforter to teach them 
all truth. He exhorts them to pray, assuring them that 
whatsoever they ask in his name, his Father will give 
them. He warns them that they will have much to 
suffer in the world: "But have confidence," he adds, 
"I have overcome the world." 2 Then raising his eyes 
to heaven, he prays for them and for all those who shall 
believe in their word : "Father, I pray for them. Keep 
them in thy name. . . . that they may be one as we 
also are. . . . Preserve them from evil. . . . Sanctify 
them in truth. . . . Father, I will that where I am, 
they also whom thou hast given me may be with me; 
that they may see my glory which thou hast given me. 
... I have made known thy name to them, that the 
love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and 
I in them." 3 

His prayer finished, he goes forth from Jerusalem, 
and by that very act begins to execute the decree of 
reprobation pronounced against that ungrateful city, 
so soon to be guilty of deicide. For Jerusalem has 
failed to profit by the days that might have procured 
peace, and now these days of mercy are no more. 

Jesus arrives at the Valley of Josaphat. As pre- 
figured by David fleeing from the parricide Absalom, 
he crosses the torrent of Cedron, his soul overwhelmed 
with sadness at the ingratitude of men. As we contem- 
plate him in his dejection and desolation, let us remem- 

1 John xv. 2 John xvi. 33. 

3 John xvii. 



10 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

ber that he will come again in power and glory to that 
same valley, where all men shall be gathered before him 
for judgment. 

Jesus now approaches the garden in which he is to 
begin his passion. But as he is to sustain the contest 
alone, he first withdraws from eight of his apostles, and 
then from the three remaining. how keenly he 
feels this separation ! and with what emotion his disciples 
behold him going away from them, entering the garden, 
and disappearing among the trees ! 

The journey from the supper-room to the Garden 
of Olives is at last ended. Jesus is about to commence 
his passion on the very mountain from which he is 
afterward to ascend into heaven. He would thereby 
teach us that it is through trials and tribulations that 
we are to gain eternal bliss; that like him, we must 
enter the garden of sorrow and ascend the heights of 
Calvary before we can arrive at the glory of the 
Ascension. 

Jesus is about to commence his passion in a garden. 
By this circumstance, he tells us that he has come to 
repair the evil which began in another garden with the 
disobedience of the first man, that he is about to disarm 
the cherub placed by divine justice at the gate of the 
true paradise, and to seize the flaming sword which 
bars our entrance. Let us reflect on the difference be- 
tween the garden wherein the first man was placed, and 
that which the New Man has entered. 

There Adam enjoyed all sorts of delight; here Jesus 
is going to suffer all manner of anguish of soul. There 
the first sin was committed, and thence innumerable 
evils overspread the earth; here sin is to be repaired, 



OE OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 11 

and hence will flow such grace that the Church can 
exclaim : "0 happy transgression which procured for us 
such a Kedeemer!" There Death was born of pride 
and pleasure; here Jesus by his sufferings and humilia- 
tion is to bring us forth to a new life. There stood the 
tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the origin of all 
wars and disorders; here is seen the olive, the symbol of 
that peace which Jesus has purchased for us by his 
sweat and blood. 

APPLICATION 

How fruitful in salutary teachings is not the subject 
on which we are meditating ! It helps us to understand 
the misfortune of a soul which, like Judas, is the slave 
of passion, and withdraws from its divine Master; or 
which, like Jerusalem, knows not the day when our 
adorable Savior visits it with his grace! It admirably 
instructs us in the love, the tenderness, and the gener- 
osity of Jesus Christ for us. It enables us to see his 
very heart consumed with the flames of charity. 

that we could but conceive the love erf our divine 
Savior, who, after having given himself to us in the 
sacrament of the altar, becomes our substitute to suffer 
the penalty of our sins ! 

He has said: "Greater love than this no man hath, 
that a man lay down his life for his friends." 1 This 
proof he has given us, and that too when we were his 
enemies. Why, then, should we not love him with our 
whole heart? Why not manifest to him, by all our 
thoughts, works, and affections, the liveliest and most 

*Jolm xv. 13. 



12 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

constant gratitude; since our gratitude, how great soever 
it may be, will never be commensurate with his benefits? 

PEAYEE 

I adore thee, Jesus, beginning thy dolorous passion. 
I have accompanied thee from the supper-room to the 
Mount of Olives, and have listened, with thy apostles, 
to the words of life and charity which proceed from thy 
adorable lips. Grant by thy grace that they may become 
a rule of conduct for me, so that, after faithfully accom- 
plishing thy holy will in this life, I may deserve to be 
placed at thy right hand, when thou shalt come, glorious 
and triumphant, to judge the nations in the same Valley 
of Josaphat which witnessed thy humiliations. 

Eesume, page 382. 

The hour approaches in which Jesus Christ is to be 
delivered to his enemies. 

1. He tells the apostles that he is about to leave them. 

2. He consoles them, promising them not to leave 
them orphans, but to send them the Holy Ghost. 

3. He exhorts them to love one another. 

4. He prays for them to his heavenly Father. 

5. He crosses the valley of Josaphat . . , arrives at 
the garden of Gethsemane. . . . withdraws from his 
apostles . . . and goes forth alone to pray. . . . 

— Let us learn from these circumstances: 

1. How unhappy is the soul from which Jesus departs. 

2. How tenderly our divine Savior loves us. 

3. What affection we ought to have for him. 

4. How great he is, since in that very valley of 
Josaphat one day he shall judge the world. 

5. How grateful we ought to be to the second Adam 
who has repaired the fault committed by the first. 



THIRD MEDITATION 

SADNESS OF JESUS IN THE GARDEN OF OLIVES 

My soul is sorrowful even unto death. — Matt. xxvi. 38. 

CONSIDERATION 

Let us adore our divine Savior entering into the Gar- 
den of Olives with Peter, James, and John — the three 
disciples whom he wishes to make the. special witnesses 
of the piteous state to which he is reduced. The fear, 
sadness, and tribulation which he experiences, he ex- 
presses in these words : "My soul is sorrowful even unto 
death." 1 Wishing to prepare for his passion by prayer, 
he tells the disciples who accompany him to watch and 
pray ; and then withdraws some paces from them. 

Let us contemplate him in the state in which the holy 
Evangelist describes him : he is overcome with fear and 
anguish; he suffers the greatest interior pains, the most 
overwhelming sadness, and the most fearful anxiety; 
he feels in his heart the incomprehensible sorrows 
whereof the royal prophet spoke when he exclaimed by 
divine inspiration: "My heart is troubled within me; 
. . . and darkness hath covered me." 2 

See, my soul ! thy divine Savior sinking under the 
weight of his sorrows; he is pale, weak, and trembling; 
his heart is oppressed with anguish, his eyes are filled 

x Matt. xxvi. 38. 2 Ps. liv. 5, 6. 

13 



14 MEDITATIONS OX THE PASSION 

with tears, his soul is plunged in the bitterest grief. 
Hear the groans of thy Beloved, and abandon thyself to 
sentiments of the liveliest compassion. 

Jesus, how profound is thy sorrow! and yet how 
mysterious, how astounding it is ! But a few moments 
ago, in thy desire to surfer and die for us, thou didst 
say : "I have a baptism wherewith I am to be baptized, 
and how am I straitened until it be accomplished !" * 
And behold all at once thou showest thyself timid, dis- 
mayed, and overcome with weariness, and revealest to us 
that thy soul is sorrowful even unto death. Why, then, 
Lord ! art thou, the joy and the delight of the angels, 
engulfed in affliction ? Wherefore dost thou, the source 
of all strength, appear weakness itself ? Wherefore dost 
thou, who art to be the courage of martyrs, shudder at 
the sight of torments and the approach of death? 
Undoubtedly in all this there are sublime teachings, 
whereon we should meditate attentively. 

The exhaustion that Jesus feels is extreme; but it is, 
at the same time, voluntary. He produces it in his soul, 
to show us that he has truly taken our nature, and that, 
apart from sin, he is really subject to the same weakness 
as we are. He wills only what his Father wills : never- 
theless, his submission, though perfect, does not 
diminish his feeling of horror and repugnance for the 
torments and ignominious death which he is to under- 
go. At this moment, the divinitj^, which always dwells 
in his adorable person, leaves his . sacred humanity, in 
some degree, to itself, in order that he may experience 
all our sorrows ; but at the same time it sustains it, that 
it may not give way before the moment that he has him- 
*Luke xii. 50. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 15 

self appointed. More than that, as St. Lawrence 
Justinian remarks, his very divinity contributes to 
augment his sufferings, by giving his soul a perfect 
knoivledge of all that he has to endure. 

This is, indeed, the first cause of his utter prostration. 
He considers the bitterness of the chalice presented to 
him by the -justice of God, which he must satisfy for us. 
He sees distinctly all that he is to suffer; he pictures in 
imagination all the ignominy that awaits him, all the 
horrible torments that are prepared for him. He fore- 
sees that every moment of that night and of the follow- 
ing day, will bring him some new opprobrium; that he 
will become the butt of all manner of insult, be out- 
raged in every possible way, be left a prey to the most 
cruel tortures, and this even to the very moment when 
he shall expire, saying, "It is consummated I" 1 His heart 
quails before the sight, his courage seems to abandon 
him, and his soul is overcome with mortal fear. 

But it is not only the sight of the torments prepared 
for him that affects our divine Savior; it is still more 
that of the sins which he has taken upon himself, and 
of the vast number of souls who will fail to profit by 
his sacrifice. 

He is overwhelmed with sorrow, because he sees him- 
self laden before his Father, with the sins of all men. 
Oh ! who will give us to know the shame and confusion 
that he feels when he considers himself in that state? 
He who is the thrice holy God, appears guilty of all the 
sins that have been committed or shall be committed on 
earth during the lapse of ages ! Hence, at this moment, 
nothing is present to his mind but what is sad and pain- 
STota xix, 30. 



16 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

ful. He sees in the past an unbroken succession of 
crimes, from the disobedience of Adam to the sacrilege 
of Judas. The present bears heavily on his soul, and 
its weight is increased by the still greater crimes already 
resolved on by the chiefs of the Jewish nation. He per- 
ceives in the future the work of sin going on without 
interruption, and that despite the sacrifice of his life 
offered to destroy it. 

He is overwhelmed with sadness, because he beholds 
the ingratitude and the misfortune of sinners who will 
refuse to profit by his sufferings and his death ; who will 
despise the salvation which he has purchased for them; 
and who persisting in their iniquity will die impenitent. 
It is over them and their unhappy lot, that he sheds 
abundant tears. His heart is broken to think of how 
many Christians, members of his mystical body, shall 
be snatched away by demons ! 

But there are also other motives which cause this 
interior sorrow of Jesus : "It is," says St. Ambrose, "to 
expiate our guilty joys, and merit for us the grace never 
again to give ourselves up to them." It is to sanctify 
our sorrows, to give us strength and courage to bear 
them, to lessen their bitterness and even sometimes to 
exempt us from them. It is that we may find in him a 
remedy for our moral pains, a source of consolation in 
our dryness and discouragement. It is also in order to 
inspire us with the sorrow which we ought to have for 
our transgressions. Sin originates in the heart; Jesus 
begins to expiate it by an interior sorrow, and thereby 
merits for us all sorrow for the faults which we have 
committed, and grace to atone for them by a true re- 
pentance. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 17 

APPLICATION 

To enter into the spirit of the sorrow of Jesus in the 
Garden of Olives, let us excite our hearts to the liveliest 
gratitude to him, and the most sincere repentance for 
our faults. Let us never forget that our sins over- 
whelmed his soul with grief, covered his face with con- 
fusion, and filled his eyes with tears. Let us, then, weep 
in his presence over our misfortune in offending him, 
and let our tears have their source in a truly contrite 
and humble heart. 

Let the thought of the sorrow of Jesus excite us to 
patience and resignation in our interior troubles, and 
strengthen us against weariness and discouragement. 
When we are in affliction, let us unite ourselves to Jesus 
suffering, and ask him, by the merits of his divine sad- 
ness, for grace to bear with constancy and generosity 
the trials to which he subjects us. 

Let us purify our hearts from all irregular affection ; 
let us remodel ou£ interior after the pattern set us by 
him. Let us try to share the sadness of our divine 
Master, not allowing ourselves to give way to a joy that 
is wholly worldly, but living in such modesty and reserve 
as may manifest the compunction that reigns in our 
hearts. 

PEAYEE 

"0 Lord Jesus Christ, eternal sweetness of those who 
love thee, remember the bitter sadness which thou didst 
feel at the approach of thy passion, and by that sadness, 
most sweet Jesus, have mercy, I beseech thee, on me 
a sinner !" Grant that I may weep to my last hour over 



18 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

my misfortune in offending thee, and by the generous 
practice of virtue, atone for my unfaithfulness, which I 
will deplore to the end of my life. 

Besume, page 383. 

As the prophets had foretold, Jesus is overwhelmed 
with sadness. 

Let us contemplate him: 

1. Pale, weak, a prey to inexpressible anguish. 

2. Suffering the greatest interior pains. 

3. Eaising his tearful eyes to heaven. 

4. Telling the apostles who are with him: "My soul 
is sorrowful even unto death." 

5. Going aside to pray. 

Let us compassionate his sorrow, and reflect that it is 
caused by 

1. The bitter chalice of his passion. 

2. The sins with which he is burdened. 

3. The divine wrath whose full weight he, though 
innocent, is about to bear alone. 

4. The number of souls, alas ! so great, who will fail 
to profit by his death. 

5. Our guilty joys, which he expiates, our little con- 
trition for our faults. 



FOURTH MEDITATION 
PRAYER OF JESUS IN THE GARDEN OF OLIVES 

Father, . . . remove this chalice from me. — Mark xiv. 36. 

CONSIDEKATION 

Let us contemplate our adorable Savior in the Garden 
of Olives, suffering in his soul the most overwhelming 
weariness, the most lively apprehension, and the most 
profound sadness. Who can measure the extent of his 
grief? Let us listen to him as he manifests it to his 
apostles in the astonishing words : "My soul is sorrowful 
even unto death." 1 His heart is desolate, and he feels 
the need of recourse to his heavenly Father, to draw 
therefrom strength against the exhaustion into which 
he allows his sacred humanity to fall. After having 
admonished the three apostles who accompany him, to 
watch and pray with him, he goes a stone's throw from 
them, and there, falling prostrate on the ground, he 
says : "Father, all things are possible to thee ; take away 
this chalice from me ; but not what I will, but what thou 
wilt." 2 

Who, then, is it that is reduced to this state of desola- 
tion and prays with such earnest entreaty? It is 
the Almighty, the well-beloved son of God. What a 
mystery, then, is revealed by this agonizing grief, and 
the sighs and moans in which he gives vent to it! 
x Mark xiv. 34. Ubid. 36. 

19 



20 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

He considers himself as charged with the sins of all 
men, and consequently as indebted to his Father's 
justice for the all but infinite number of their faults 
and crimes. Hence the chalice which he asks to have 
taken away, is the chalice of our sins, which, through 
love for us, he wishes to drink, although it is infinitely 
repugnant to his sanctity. 

It contains all that he is to suffer in his grievous 
passion: the afflictions that will break over him, and 
end only with his cruel and ignominious death. It con- 
tains the profanation, by his enemies, of his adorable 
person, which they will overwhelm with all manner of 
contempt; and the deicide of the Jews, which will draw 
down upon them numberless misfortunes and the ruin 
of their nation. 

It contains also the abuse of those graces which he is 
about to merit for men at the cost of so many sorrows ; 
and the loss of all those souls who will cast themselves 
into the abyss of hell, notwithstanding what he is doing 
to save them. 

All this is present to his mind and breaks his heart. 
Hence he asks by "prayers and supplications, with a 
strong cry and tears/' x that this chalice be taken away. 
It were indeed just, Jesus, that thy Father should 
hear thy prayer. Thou art holiness itself, and thou 
shouldst not be subject to sorrow and death, which are 
the penalty of sin; thy sacred humanity should neither 
suffer nor die. But if he hear thee, if thy chalice be 
removed, what is to become of us, who can be saved only 
on condition that thou accept it; for thou alone canst 
be the victim of our redemption? 
^eb. v. 7. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 21 

But let us have confidence: mercy prevails over jus- 
tice. Jesus desires to be now and always our generous 
Eedeemer ; for after crying out, "Father, take away this 
chalice from me/' he immediately adds: "but not as I 
will, but as thou wilt." Let us reflect on this second 
part of his prayer. 

"Father, not as I will, but as fhou wilt." Thus Jesus 
commences his passion by the self-denial which he had 
laid down as a precept when he said: "If any man 
will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up 
his cross and follow me I" 1 He gives up his human will, 
although it is most holy, and compels it to accept 
innumerable torments and an infamous death from 
which it would naturally have shrunk. 

"Father, not as I will, but as thou wilt:" I submit 
to thy decrees. "Burnt-offering and sin-offering thou 
didst not require : then said I, 'Behold, I come. In the 
head of the book it is written of me, that I should do thy 
will/" 2 Yes, Father, to repair the disobedience of 
man, I will be obedient unto death, even the death of 
the cross; I accept the chalice which thou dost present 
to me ; I consent to be baptized with the baptism where- 
with I am to be baptized; may thy holy will, not mine, 
be done ! 

sublime obedience of Jesus ! By it he adores God 
in a manner worthy of his majesty ; by it he repairs the 
disobedience of Adam and of each one of us; by it he 
merits for us the grace on all occasions to submit our 
own will to the divine will, and to lead, in our holy state, 
the life of obedience to which we are called. 

Thus it is that, in his prayer, our divine Savior reveals 
^att. xvi. 24. 2 Ps. xxxix. 7-9. 



22 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

to "us the admirable dispositions of his heart, and teaches 
lis both the renunciation of our own will and perfect 
submission to the will of God. He teaches us by example 
the qualities which our prayers ought to have; for he 
prays with humility, annihilating himself, as it were, in 
the presence of his Father ; he prays with fervor, asking 
earnestly to be exempted from the sufferings of his 
passion; with resignation, asking with perfect submis- 
sion to the will of God; with constancy, repeating the 
same words and prolonging his prayer, although he is 
in such extreme desolation of soul that he appears to 
have been forsaken by God the Father. 

APPLICATION 

Let us compassionate the interior sorrow of Jesus; 
let us share the grief that overwhelms him, and with 
him shed tears before God the Father. His sorrow is 
caused by sin ; and we, alas ! have committed it so many 
times, and under such aggravating circumstances ! Be- 
sides, we see it committed so frequently, so universally. 
Why do we not feel a bitter pain, a profound desolation 
at the sight ? 

With Jesus, let us weep over the misfortune of those 
souls who do not profit by the redemption which he 
has purchased for them by his sufferings and death. 
how deplorable is their state! Let us pray that the 
number of these souls may diminish; let us pray for the 
conversion of sinners; let us pray that the merits of 
our divine Eedeemer may not become unfruitful through 
the malice or the indifference of men. 

In imitation of our divine Ma«ter, let us renounce our 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 23 

own will to submit in all things to that of God. Let us 
always be heartily disposed to say: "Our Father who 
art in heaven ! thy holy will be done by me on earth, as 
it is done by the angels in heaven; nay, rather by thy 
divine Son who, to accomplish it, became obedient unto 
death, even the death of the cross." 

Let us ask of Jesus Christ praying in the Garden of 
Olives, the spirit of prayer and the courage to drink of 
the chalice which is presented to us. Thus we shall 
apply to ourselves the merits of his sacrifice. 

PEAYEK 

most sweet Jesus, who hast come to seek and to 
save what was lost, I compassionate, from the depths 
of my heart, the desolation to which thou art reduced. 
Beloved of my soul ! I wish to give myself entirely to 
thee; and in order to testify to thee my love and grati- 
tude, I offer thee my heart to suffer as much of the bit- 
terness of thine as thou wilt deem fitting. 

Deign, I beseech thee, to aid me by thy grace, lest I 
fail in courage, for alas ! I am weakness itself ; and at 
sight of obstacles, I can only exclaim: "Father, take 
this chalice away from me." Grant, therefore, I be- 
seech thee, that in all my trials I may be able to add, 
after thy example, "Father, not my will but thine be 
done." 

Eesume, page 383. 

Let us contemplate Jesus Christ overwhelmed with 
sorrow in the Garden of Gethsemane. 

1. He is alone at some distance from his disciples. 

2. He casts himself prone upon the earth. 



24 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

3. "Father," he cries, "all things are possible to 
thee." 

4. "Eemove this chalice from me." 

5. "Nevertheless, not what I will, but what thou 
wilt." 

— Let ns enter into the spirit of this mystery. 

Let us ask ourselves who it is that prays thus, what 
this chalice is which he asks to have taken away from 
him ; and let ns understand how much we should, 

1. Compassionate his sorrow. 

2. Pear, deplore, and hate sin, which is its true cause. 

3. Mourn over the misfortune cf those souls who fail 
to profit by the redemption which Jesus has purchased. 

4. Eenounce our will after the example of our adora- 
ble Master. 

5. In all things submit to the will of God. 



FIFTH MEDITATION 
JESUS SWEATS BLOOD AND WATER 

Being in an agony, he prayed the longer. And his sweat 
became as drops of blood trickling down upon the ground. — 
Luke xxii. 43, 44. 

CONSIDEEATION 

Let us contemplate our divine Savior prolonging his 
prayer in the Garden of Olives, notwithstanding the 
fact that he is overwhelmed with grief ; and let us recall 
the principal causes of his desolation of soul. 

He views the sufferings that await him. He sees the 
chains that shall bind his hands, the lashes that shall 
tear his members, the thorns that shall pierce his head ; 
the nails, the cross, the spear, — all the instruments of 
his torture. He sees how deep a wound his sufferings 
shall inflict on the heart of his most holy Mother. He 
counts all the woes wherewith Jerusalem shall be over- 
whelmed in punishment of the deicide of which she is 
soon to be guilty. Having taken our iniquities upon 
himself, he sees himself, as it were, defiled with the 
crimes of all mankind. What a subject of confusion 
for his most holy soul, which comprehends perfectly 
how hideous, how hateful, and how revolting sin is ! 

"0 men! who know not what injury sin does to 
God," exclaims St. Chrysostom, "come, hasten to be- 
hold Christ, the anointed of the Lord, the Son of God, 
God himself, prostrate in the dust. What is it that has 

25 



26 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

educed him to this state? — Sin, nay, even the mere 
image of sin. . . . For he has seen how much sin 
offends God and degrades man; and how necessary it 
was for him to make satisfaction in order to appease 
the one and reinstate the other." 

St. Paul says: "Him who knew no sin, he hath 
made sin for us, that we might be made the justice of 
God in him!" 1 Our adorable Savior shudders as he 
beholds all the rigor of that divine justice which has 
been provoked by the iniquities of men, and which is 
to be fully exercised on him as the substitute of sinners. 

Above all, he considers the number, alas ! so great, of 
those who will trample on his blood, and who will draw 
from his sufferings and death nothing but a terrible 
condemnation. how his divine heart is afflicted at the 
sight of these wretches ! How urgently he beseeches his 
Father to remove this chalice from him; to grant, if 
possible, that all men may profit by the redemption that 
he is going to effect! "The Son of God, when about to 
begin his passion," says St. Catharine of Sienna, "see- 
ing impenitent sinners deprived through their own 
malice of the fruit of his cross, falls into such profound 
sadness and such grievous agony, that he sweats water 
and blood." 

Then an angel coming down to him, consoles and 
strengthens him. Doubtless, the celestial messenger 
represents to him the salutary effects of the sacrifice 
about to be accomplished : sin expiated, hell vanquished, 
heaven opened, God glorified in time and in eternity; 
or perchance he shows him all mankind, beseeching him 
to have pity on them and save them. 
*2 Cor. v. 21. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 27 

Jesus humbly accepts the services of the angel; but 
he will not suffer him to alleviate his agony. He still 
keeps before his eyes the sufferings which await him, 
the number and enormity of the sins which he has taken 
upon himself, the multitude of souls who will be lost 
through their own fault notwithstanding all that he is 
going to suffer for their redemption. 

The pain which he feels is so intense that his heart 
contracts, and the blood accumulates in his chest. Yet, 
making an effort to control himself, he overcomes all 
the repugnance that he has allowed himself to feel, but 
by that very act his blood is so violently impelled that 
it rushes out through all the pores of his body, and, like 
a perspiration, penetrating his garments, flows to the 
ground, which it dyes a deep crimson. 

Let us ask ourselves why he suffered that effusion of 
blood. Let us say to Jesus : "Why then is thy apparel 
red 1 as scarlet and dyed with thy blood? Neither the 
lashes of the whips, nor the nails of the cross nor the 
spear of the soldier, have drawn it from thy veins; why 
then does it flow?" 

Ah ! I understand : it is to testify to men that of thy 
own accord thou givest thy life to save them; that thy 
love for them is boundless, that thou desirest nothing 
so much as to be baptized with the baptism wherewith 
thou art to be baptized. It is to give hope of pardon to 
those who are going to put thee to death, and who, not 
daring to ask it by the blood which they will have shed 
in the pretorium or on Calvary, can always ask it 
through that which thou hast here shed voluntarily; it 
is to repair the sin committed in the garden of delights, 
^sai. lxiii, 2, 



28 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

and which, indeed, is fully repaired by the shedding of 
thy blood in this garden of sorrows. 

divine blood ! thou art a salutary rain falling in 
benediction on the sterile earth accursed for four thou- 
sand years; thou art an eloquent voice which ascends 
to heaven only to ask for grace ; thou art the more than 
sufficient price of the ransom of all mankind ! Jesus, 
generous Bedeemer, who wiliest to suffer for us the pun- 
ishment that we have deserved, thou makest contract to 
do so and signest it with thy blood. At this moment, 
thou receivest from thy Father the warrant of our con- 
demnation, which thou art to annul by fastening it to 
the Cross. 

Jesus is the high priest of the New Law; he comes 
to purify us, "not in water only, but in water and 
blood." 1 That mysterious sweat which, we contemplate, 
is truly the aspersion of the people by the high priest 
as he goes up to the altar of holocaust. It is more : it 
is the beginning of the sacrifice of our Friend and 
Victim, by whom alone the remission of sins can be 
obtained. 

APPLICATION 

Let us not forget that "the kingdom of heaven suf- 
f ereth violence, and the violent bear it away." 2 Yes, none 
are crowned but those who, like Jesus in the Garden of 
Gethsemane, arm themselves with courage to do the 
will of God, even at the sacrifice of nature. 

Let us pray for grace to overcome our repugnance. 
Let us on all occasions be courageous against ourselves. 
What is the combat that we have to sustain, compared 
n John v. 6, 2 Matt. xi. 12. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 29 

with that which Jesus sustained for us? Let us often 
recall his agon}' in the Garden of Olives, and, as St. 
Paul exhorts us, let us reflect that we have not yet 
"resisted unto blood." 1 

Let us learn from the interior sufferings of Jesus, 
even after the angel's visit, that very often the presence 
of grace does not lessen the sense of our sorrows; that 
it really acts in us and strengthens us, but, as a rule, 
without sensibly manifesting itself; that we may have 
strength to do good without having a relish for so doing ; 
and that, consequently, we ought to remain firm in the 
service of God even though we experience neither 
pleasure therein nor affection therefor. 

Let us often think that it was our sins that over- 
whelmed Jesus with sorrow and reduced him to agony; 
that it was our crimes that brought on that painful 
sweat that would have caused his death, had he not, 
through charity for us, reserved himself for new tor- 
ments. 

Let us cast ourselves at his feet and beg his pardon. 
Let us kiss the ground which he reddened with his blood 
and let us water it with our tears. Let us adore that 
divine blood which is the price of our ransom. Let us 
reverently gather up some drops, that they may impart 
to us the grace of reconciliation, and imbue us with the 
sentiments wherewith the adorable Victim of our 
redemption was animated. 

PEAYEE 

my dear Master, what claims hast thou not on my 
gratitude and love ! Grant then that these sentiments 
^eb. xii. 4. 



30 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

together with regret for my faults, may penetrate my 
soul at the contemplation of thy agony and bloody 
sweat. let me cast myself at thy feet, and water with 
my tears the earth which thou hast bathed with thy 
blood; let me tell thee that I hope in thy mercy, and 
that I base my hope on thy infinite charity in becoming, 
notwithstanding thy natural repugnance, the victim for 
my salvation. 

Eesume, page 384. 

Let us contemplate Jesus prolonging his prayer: 

1. He struggles in our behalf against divine justice. 

2. He asks pardon for us from his Father. 

3. An angel appears to him and strengthens his 
humanity. 

4. Notwithstanding this visit, he feels extremely 
weak; but he courageously overcomes this feeling. 

5. Then there comes on him a bloody sweat. 

Let us behold that divine blood as it oozes through his 
garments and trickles down upon the ground. 
Let us ask ourselves why he sheds it. 
— Let us learn from this meditation : 

1. To be courageous in overcoming ourselves. 

2. To triumph, by grace, over all our repugnances. 

3. To persevere in prayer and in the service of God. 

4. To weep over our sins, over which Jesus wept so 
much. 

5. To admire and adore him and bless him for that 
love, which impelled him to shed his blood to obtain for 
us grace before his Father. 



SIXTH MEDITATION 
THE SLEEP OF THE APOSTLES 

Could you not watch one hour with me? Watch ye, and 
pray. — Matt. xxvi. 40, 41. 

CONSIDERATION 

Before entering the Garden of Olives, Jesus had told 
his disciples to watch and pray, lest they give way to 
the temptation to which his sufferings would expose 
them. He now repeats the same injunction to Peter and 
the two sons of Zebedee, who had entered the garden 
with him : "My soul is sorrowful even unto death ; stay 
you here and watch with me." Then he withdraws a 
stone's throw from them, and begins to pray. 

What motives the apostles have to watch and pray! 
Jesus, their divine Master, prescribes it; he has warned 
them that they are going to be tried ; that the shepherd 
is about to be stricken, and the sheep of the flock to be 
dispersed ; they behold him preparing for his passion by 
most humble and persevering prayer; they know what 
interior sorrow overwhelms him ; they hear his sighs and 
groans. 

And ye^ as though despising his warning and disre- 
garding his sad state, they give way to sleep. criminal 
indifference ! the enemy is watching for an opportunity 
to surprise them, but they do not keep on their guard. 
They are weak, but they neglect to seek in prayer, the 

31 



32 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

strength which they need. Jesus suffers, but they do 
not compassionate him. He prays for them; but they 
do not pray with him. What pain he must feel ! And 
yet he interrupts his prayer to come to them. 

Comforter of the afflicted, he feels the want of being 
comforted; himself strength of the weak, he himself 
seeks a support. But no ! vigilant and charitable Shep- 
herd, he comes to his sheep to guard and preserve them 
from the danger that threatens them. He draws near 
the apostles, and addressing himself to him whom he 
has made their head, says, "What! could you not 
watch one hour with me?" Then speaking to them all, 
he adds: "Watch ye and pray, that ye enter not into 
temptation; for the spirit, indeed, is willing, but the 
flesh is weak." These are indeed words of divine wis- 
dom. What precious teachings they contain! 

They forcibly remind us of our human frailty, of our 
promptness in forming good resolutions and our weak- 
ness in accomplishing them, of the war of the -spirit 
against the flesh, and of the flesh against the spirit, of 
our constant danger of offending God, of the necessity 
of self -distrust, watchfulness, and prayer. But alas! 
how little we profit by these salutary lessons of our 
divine Master ! 

Having thus renewed his recommendations, Jesus 
returns to his prayer, which he soon interrupts again. 
unexampled goodness and tenderness ! Jesus receives 
no consolation; he is, as it were, abandoned by heaven 
and earth, and yet he is so occupied with his apostles 
and disciples, that he seems to think only of them. A 
second time he returns to his apostles, and is saddened 
to find them asleep. Nevertheless, he does not reproach 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 33 

them. He regards them with compassion; he grieves 
for the frailty of man, alas ! so great ever since the day 
of the first sin ; and for the third time, he goes aside to 
pray. 

In his third prayer he asks what he had already asked, 
that the chalice of his passion be removed; but doubt- 
less he prays, again that the faith of Simon Peter may 
not fail, and that the other disciples may be confirmed 
by him whom he has chosen for the head of his Church. 
He prays also for us who, like the apostles, share so 
little in his sufferings ; and he pleads our cause with his 
Father. 

Let us admire the infinite charity of our Savior, who 
takes our infirmities upon himself and supplies, in one 
sense, for our inability to watch and pray: for he 
watches and prays, in order to obtain saving grace even 
for the souls who are not actually disposed to do violence 
to themselves to practise virtue. Hence, when he returns 
a third time to his disciples, he no longer recommends 
vigilance to them; he confines himself to saying, with 
ineffable charity, "Sleep now, and take your rest;" words 
which may signify : "Have confidence, I have obtained 
for you the grace of profiting by the fruits of my pas- 
sion and death, notwithstanding your little share in 
my sorrows : rely on me." 

Nevertheless, since it is impossible for man to be 
saved without sharing to some extent in the sorrows of 
Jesus, our merciful Master urges them to make an effort 
to overcome themselves. "Arise," he says to them, "let 
us go ; for behold he is at hand who is to betray me ;" it 
is now you must prove, by your courage and fidelity, 
that you are really my disciples. 



34 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

APPLICATION 

It is especially to us religious that the Savior ad- 
dresses his exhortation, "Watch and pray." Let us ask 
ourselves whether we hearken to it. Do we distrust our- 
selves? Are we conscious of our weakness? Do we 
know what risks we run, and do we endeavor to avoid 
them ? Do we watch over our thoughts, which are some- 
times so vain, our imagination, which is so extravagant, 
our senses, which are so inclined to evil, and which so 
often inflict deep wounds on our soul? Are we on our 
guard against our weakness so as to forestall the enemy 
and prevent him from entering and taking possession of 
our heart ? 

During meditation, do we watch in company with 
Jesus ? Are we not in that state of indifference which is 
so painful to him ? Do we not sometimes become weary 
in his presence, at the very moment when he calls us 
to watch and pray with him? Do we not allow our- 
selves to fall into the sleep of tepidity ? 

If so, let us listen to our divine Master telling us: 
"What ! you sleep instead of praying ! you sleep instead 
of combating the enemies of your salvation! you sleep 
instead of working seriously at your sanctification ! you 
sleep instead of thinking of me, instead of meditating 
on the sufferings that I endure for you! You cannot 
watch with me ! Know you not, then, how great an evil 
it is to fall into negligence, into a state of voluntary 
distraction during prayer, into that spiritual apathy 
which is revolting to my heart?" 

Let us deplore our criminal conduct, but let us not 
be discouraged. Jesus prayed to merit for us the grace 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 35 

to return to fervor. Let us give ear to his words. 
"Arise," he says ; "awake from your sleep and follow me ; 
I am going to enter on the career which you ought to 
follow in order to gain eternal glory; remember that 
only those shall prevail over their enemies who shall 
watch and pray with me." 

Let us then, if we wish to obtain salvation, watch and 
pray unceasingly in union with him. 

PEAYER 

Jesus, how long have I remained buried in the sleep 
of indifference and tepidity ! An inexplicable torpor be- 
numbs my soul and paralyzes my will. I feel that the 
flesh is indeed weak and prone to evil, and that the 
spirit, although quick in resolving, has not the strength 
to resist the enemy energetically by the practice of 
mortification. But can I any longer remain in this 
state ? 

What! is it for me that thou sufferest inconceiv- 
able pains, that thou sacrificest thyself? And I can- 
not meditate on thy sufferings for even a few mo- 
ments! And perhaps at the end of the meditation 
that I now commence, I may have deserved the re- 
proach of not being able to watch one short hour with 
thee! 

Have pity on my weakness and come to my aid, 
Beloved of ( my soul ! Draw me from this deplorable 
lethargy. Say to me, "Arise, let us go ;" but say it with 
that omnipotent voice which effects what it expresses, 
and humbly and fervently will I accompany thee in the 
way wherein thou wouldst have me walk. 



36 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION" 

Besuttie, page 384. 

Jesus said to his apostles : "Watch and pray." 

1. Everything made this a duty for them. 

2. But, overcome by fatigue, they sleep. What sorrow 
for Jesus! No one compassionates his sorrows. 

3. He comes again, and says : "Watch ye, and pray/* 

4. But, alas ! when he returns for the second time, 
he finds them again sleeping. 

5. Leaving them, he goes to pray a third time, then 
he says to them: "Sleep on now, and take your rest. 
Eise, let us go." 

— Let us enter into the spirit of this mystery: 

1. Let us watch and pray with Jesus. 

2. Let us not fall into the fatal sleep of tepidity; if 
we have fallen into it, let us hasten to arise from it. 

3. Let us obey Jesus when he says, "Eise, let us go." 

4. Let us mortify our senses that the spirit may not 
be weighed down by the flesh. 

5. Let us make our meditation well, lest we incur the 
reproach of not being able to watch one hour with 
Jesus. 



SEVENTH MEDITATION 
COURAGE OF JESUS AFTER HIS PRAYER 

Eise up; let us go. — Mark xiv. 42. 

CONSIDEKATION 

Let us consider our divine Savior ending his long and 
painful prayer, and quitting the place which he had 
bedewed with his tears and his blood: he has prepared 
himself by prayer for the consummation of his sacrifice. 
The moment has come when, to the pains of his heart, 
must be added pains of the body, and this moment he 
now regards without fear or sadness. 

By his divine mind, from which nought can be 
hidden, he sees the soldiers and servants advancing to 
lay sacrilegious hands upon him; he perceives the 
torches that light their way glimmering throughout the 
trees of the garden ; he hears their blasphemies and their 
death-cries ; he distinguishes at their head the infamous 
disciple who has just betrayed him. He knows what 
torments await him. He sees in spirit the cords that 
are to bind his hands, the bandage that is to cover his 
eyes, the scourges that are to lacerate his members, the 
crown that is to torture his brow, the nails that are to 
pierce his hands and feet, the cross on which he is to 
suffer an infamous death. He knows, too, that his 
disciples are on the point of deserting him and taking 
to flight. 

37 



38 MEDITATIONS OK THE PASSION 

Nevertheless, he shows no further apprehension. But 
a moment since, he was dejected in mind, grieved in 
heart, and reduced to agony; now he is courageous and 
full of strength. He accepts without hesitation the 
great humiliations which he is to undergo ; he is firmly 
resolved to drink to the dregs the chalice presented to 
him; he seems unmoved by the sight of torments and 
death; he goes with a firm step to awake his apostles and 
he says to them: "The hour is come: behold, the Son 
of man shall be betrayed into the hands of sinners. . . . 
Eise up ; let us go : he that will betray me, is -at hand." 1 

How well this language shows the state of his soul, 
animated now with all its divine strength! His voice, 
which a moment before was subdued with fear, now 
manifests a firmness, a courage, and a resolution, which 
nothing can shake. 

"Bise up ; let us go :" behold the hour of combat is at 
hand, that hour for which I was sent, that hour which 
I have desired in order to show that I love my Father 
and do what he has commanded. I no longer fear tor- 
ments : I resign myself to them ; I even desire them 
with a great desire; I am eager for the accomplishment 
in my person of the baptism wherewith I am to i be 
baptized ; for I long to restore my Father's glory, I long 
to save men, I long to merit for them all the graces 
which they need to combat with me, and with me to 
overcome the enemies of their salvation. 

It is now, my adorable Savior, that thou settest forth 
as a giant to conquer sin and the devil. It is now that 
thou mayst say to thy eternal Father those words fore- 
told of thee ages before: — Holocausts and other sacri- 
"Mark xiv. 41, 42. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 39 

fices did not suffice for the expiation of sin; wherefore 
thou gavest me a body ; and then I said, "Behold I come, 
. . . that I should do thy will;" 1 behold I come ready 
to shed even the last drop of my blood to satisfy thy 
justice, to expiate sin, and to save souls. 

But how has this change been wrought in thee, 
divine Master? Whence comes that courage, that 
strength of soul infinitely above all that earth and hell 
can plot against thee? I hear thee tell me that it is 
from thy humble and persevering prayer in the Garden 
of Olives, from thy fervent and resigned prayer, which 
penetrated the heavens and ascended to the very throne 
of thy Father. And this courage which thou hast de- 
rived from prayer, thou wouldst communicate to thy 
disciples by addressing them in these words: "Arise, 
let us go, he is at hand who is to betray me." Arise, 
fear nothing : I am with you and I will sustain you in 
the fight. 

But not to his disciples only does the Savior say: 
"Arise," be no longer weighed down by your defects, and 
drawn away by your evil inclinations. To us also he 
says, Arise and walk, advance towards perfection. "Let 
us go," and fear not, for I am with you. I am at your 
head, I ask of you only your co-operation. Do what you 
can, do not spare yourselves, and, on that condition, 
count on victory ; for, with my grace and assistance, you 
can do everything necessary for salvation. 

Jesus, my Savior, how great is thy goodness towards 

us ! Thou sayest not to us, "Arise and go ;" for whither 

should we go without thee, if not to our eternal ruin? 

But thou sayest to us, "Arise, let us go" — to teach us 

W xxxix. 7-9. 



40 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION" 

that thou art with us, that thou guidest us in the right 
way, that thou sustainest us in our conflicts. For what 
can we fear in thy company, since thou art the very 
Author of grace, and the source of all our strength? 

APPLICATION 

It was not for himself, but rather for us, that Jesus 
Christ prayed in the Garden of Olives. It was to teach 
us how and in what circumstances we ought to pray, and 
also to merit for us the grace of being heard. But alas ! 
how little we imitate his sublime example ! Instead of 
praying, instead of having recourse to God in our trials, 
troubles, and temptations, we seek refuge in creatures 
when we are discouraged and dejected. Perhaps we are 
even so foolish as to think that we shall find relief from 
our trials and troubles, in some infraction of duty or 
in yielding to our own ideas and inclinations. 

Let it not be so in future. Let us cast our eyes on 
Jesus deriving from prayer the courage necessary for 
his sacrifice; and in imitation of him, let us pray, and 
pray with fervor, especially in those moments of trial 
which, alas! are so frequent in the course of this life. 
Let us pray when we feel our spiritual strength dimin- 
ish, when work frightens us and the religious life seems 
too painful. Let us pray when the future appears sad 
and gloomy, and the clouds that overshadow us shall 
clear away. 

Let us pray when we are overtaken by adversity. Let 
us then prostrate ourselves before God, and offer him 
our sighs and tears : we shall rise full of strength and 
courage, and, trusting in him, we shall embrace gen- 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 41 

erously, and even lovingly, the cross which he wishes us 
to bear. 

Let us pray in union with Jesus Christ in the Garden 
of Olives; but let our prayer have the qualities of his; 
let it be fervent, humble, and persevering. Let us pray, 
but with an ardor that will pierce the heavens and reach 
the feet of- the Eternal. 

Let us watch and pray with Jesus; let us beware of 
going alone to meet the enemy; let us never withdraw 
from our divine Master. With him we can do all, with- 
out him nothing. Let us pray and watch ; let us never 
expose ourselves to danger, if we would not be ruined 
by our rashness. Blessed is he who prays and watches ! 
He is calm and courageous in the moment of trial; he 
has no desire but that of immolating himself with Jesus 
for the glory of God and the salvation of souls. 

PRAYER 

I know thalj afflictions are inevitable, and yet I shudder 
when I encounter them, and I lack the resignation and 
the strength to accept them ; it is because I do not pray, 
or because I pray badly. 

Give me, then, Jesus, my divine Master, give me, 
I entreat thee, this spirit of prayer which is likewise 
the spirit of strength. Grant that in union with thee, 
I may prostrate myself before thy Father in my 
moments of anxiety or affliction, tell him the wants of 
my soul, and beseech him to have mercy on me. Per- 
haps the bitter cup may not be removed from me, but 
thy Father will grant me what is infinitely preferable: 
resignation in trials, courage in adversity, and even 



42 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

love of suffering — the virtues by which alone I can be- 
come like unto thee, and deserve to share one day in thy 
glory. 

Eesume, page 385. 

How admirable is everything in Jesus ! 

But a few moments ago, he was overwhelmed with 
sadness, and seemed to require an angel to strengthen 
him ; and, behold ! now he is full of courage. 

1. He rises resolutely. 

2. He regards without fear the approach of his 
enemies. 

3. He advances towards his disciples. 

4. "Kise up ; let us go," he says to them. 

5. "Behold, he that will betray me is at hand." 
— If we but acted like Jesus and with Jesus, 

1. Our souls would be filled with courage. 

2. We should be strong with the strength of God. 

3. Nothing would oppose us in the practice of virtue. 

4. We should be disposed to make the greatest sacri- 
fices. 

5. In union with Jesus, we should confront with the 
most entire confidence all the difficulties that meet us in 
the path of virtue. 



EIGHTH MEDITATION 
THE KISS OF JUDAS 

Forthwith coming to Jesus, ... he kissed him. — 
Matt. xxvi. 49. 

CONSIDERATION 

Let us go back in thought to that moment when 
Jesus, celebrating the last pasch with his apostles, said 
to them : "Amen I say to you, that one of you is about 
to betray me." 1 Let us consider the eleven apostles, 
asking him in candor and sincerity, "Is it I, 
Lord?" 

Let us also consider Judas putting him the same 
question, when he had already sold him to the Jews for 
thirty pieces of silver. To perfidy he now joins sacri- 
lege, by receiving into his guilty heart the body and 
blood of the adorable Savior. Immediately after the com- 
mission of this new crime, he goes out to find the Jews 
and to betray to them the Victim who is to be sacrificed 
to their envy. He knows that his divine Master is to 
go after supper to the Garden of Olives, and thither 
he determines to lead the band furnished him by the 
high priest. 

When the time has come, he meets this troop of men 

made up of the very lowest of the people and a 

certain number of the soldiers and servants of the 

high-priest. He tells them how they may distinguish 

'Matt. xxvi. 2L 

43 



44 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

the Savior from his disciples: "Whomsoever I shall 
kiss, that is he, hold him fast." 

Then he goes in advance of them to the garden, ap- 
proaches Jesus whom he sees at a distance coming 
towards him with a sweet and gentle aspect. At the 
sight of his divine Master, Judas must have felt 
horrified; he must have hesitated to accomplish his 
crime : but alas ! he has so often stifled remorse of con- 
science, that he now rejects this new grace, to which 
he might owe his salvation. The wretch dares ap- 
proach Jesus, and say with affected kindness and hypo- 
critical calmness, "Hail! Master." 

infamy ! he calls him Master whom he has sold 
for thirty pieces of silver ! whom he delivers up to the 
soldiers as a vile slave ! whose school he has abandoned, 
base apostle that he is, to follow the inspiration of 
Satan and to accomplish the work of hell ! 

He calls him Master, and saluting him, advances 
to kiss him. "Stop, Judas!" says St. Augustine, 
"what a heinous sacrilege is thine! Thou makest use 
of a token of love to inflict a deep wound, and under 
the symbol of friendship thou givest death !" "0 per- 
fidious man!" exclaims St. Ambrose, "how darest 
thou change into a treacherous sign the most expressive 
mark of union and friendship?" 

But the crime of Judas is consummated; his signal 
has been understood; the innocent Victim is pointed 
out to his enemies ! Jesus has shown no unwillingness 
to allow the base apostate to approach him : he has not 
rejected the touch of the traitor's foul lips, he has not 
turned away from him. "He lovingly applied his divine 
mouth," says St. Bernard, "which knew no deceit, to 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 45 

that impious and sacrilegious mouth, from which came 
forth only malice and treason." 

What a spectacle is here presented to our contempla- 
tion! Jesus embraces the most infamous of men, he 
presses him to his bosom, he seems to make but one 
with him! Holiness is confounded with sin, goodness 
and love with wickedness and hatred! What charity, 
what generosity! 

Jesus will look on Peter to convert him, he will 
pray for his enemies, he will address words of ineffable 
consolation to the good thief : but he seems to do more 
for Judas. He gives him the kiss of reconciliation ! 
prodigy of mercy! who can henceforth despair of par- 
don, if he really ask it and sincerely repent of his sins ? 

But let us hear the words of our divine Master ; for, 
like his acts, they also proclaim his goodness: "Friend, 
whereto art thou come? Judas, dost thou betray the 
Son of man with a kiss?" 

"Friend!" what a title for a traitor! and yet Jesus 
calls him by that sweet name. Who would have ex- 
pected so much goodness from the Sovereign of heaven 
and earth, from whom nothing is hidden, not even the 
innermost depths of the heart of this infamous disci- 
ple? He who has declared that he holds deceit in 
horror, calls by the name of "friend" the man who 
is to remain for all time the type of deceivers and 
hypocrites ! 

Jesus, how great and generous is thy tenderness ! 
Thou seest this unhappy man consummating his repro- 
bation, and thou usest all the power of thy charity to 
soften his hardened heart, and to win it back to grace, 
salvation, and life ! 



46 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

After clasping him in thy arms, thou sayest to him, 
"Friend, whereto art thou come?" These words were 
an exhortation to him to re-enter into himself, as if 
thou shouldst say: "Thou art come to betray thy Mas- 
ter, to deliver him to his enemies. Confess thy crime, 
for I am ready to forgive thee; thou seest that, far 
from rejecting thee, I press thee lovingly to my heart." 

But no ! Judas w T ill not repent, he will not ask pardon 
of his divine Master; he perversely rejects all the 
graces offered to him ; he is dragged down by his sacri- 
lege to the very depths of the abyss, and thus finds 
every way of escape cut off. 

APPLICATION 

We shudder at the thought of the crime and the fate 
of Judas; but do we consider that his crime and his 
fate may be ours, if we do not take another way than 
that which he followed? Like him, we are companions 
of the Savior, admitted to secret and most intimate 
communion with him, nourished with the Eucharistic 
Bread, and called by the name of friends; but do we 
not abuse, as he did, the graces bestowed upon us ? Do 
we never allow ourselves to be governed by our evil 
inclinations? Let us examine ourselves on this point. 
Let us distrust our passions, and let us combat them 
vigorously, for there is none of them that may not lead 
us to the most deplorable excesses and the greatest 
misfortunes. 

Let us take warning from the example of Judas. It 
is not all at once that he becomes a deicide. Had he 
been told some months before, "Thou shalt sell thy 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 47 

Savior, thou shalt deliver him to his enemies/' he would 
indignantly have denied the possibility of such a crime ; 
and yet he sank to this depth of wickedness ! 

We, too, now resent as an insult even the least 
suspicion of our loyalty; we should be indignant if 
we were thought capable of betraying our God. And 
yet if Ave are not faithful to divine inspirations, if 
we do not profit by the graces bestowed on us, if we 
neglect our duties, our fate shall be that of Judas; for 
if we walk in the way that he followed, we shall as- 
suredly fall over the precipice in which it ends. We 
also may one day say to the devil and our passions, 
"What will you give me, and I will deliver to you my 
divine Master? Grant me this satisfaction, this honor, 
this pleasure, and I will drive Jesus from my heart, 
and give up my soul to you." 

God grant that such a misfortune may never befall 
us; that, on the contrary, we may always say: "Divine 
Savior, rather a thousand times let me lose all and 
sacrifice all, than be separated from thee even for a 
single moment!" 

PEAYEE 

Jesus, from whom nothing is hidden, look down 
upon me in mercy, and if thou dost discover in my 
heart any disorderly affection, destroy it; if any tie 
which binds it to creatures, break it. What matters the 
suffering this will cause me, if only I remain faithful 
to thee? Let me not be so unfortunate as to abandon 
or betray thee, thou tenderest of friends and best 
of masters ! 

The crime of Judas has filled me with horror. Oh! 



48 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

grant that there may be no more Judases among Chris- 
tians, and especially among religions. Check us at 
the first step in the way of evil; help ns to walk faith- 
fully in thy footsteps, so that on the last day we may 
go with confidence to thee, and receive from thee the 
kiss of peace which will admit us to supreme felicity. 

Eesume, page 385. 

Judas, one of the twelve, betrays his divine Master. 

1. He promises to deliver him up to the Pharisees 
for thirty pieces of silver. 

2. Guilty of sacrilege, he leaves the supper-room. 

3. He places himself at the head of a band of ruffians, 
he determines on a kiss as the sign of his treason. 

4. Coming to Jesus, he says, "Hail, Eabbi !" 

5. Then he kisses him. 

And Jesus receives his perfidious kiss . . . He em- 
braces him and gives him even the name of friend. 

— This is a saving grace: Judas refuses it, and per- 
sists in his sin. 

1. Let us deplore the crime of this wretch. 

2. Let us tremble, for, alas ! we, too, may betray 
Jesus. 

3. Let us take care that no passion rules in our 
hearts. Let us sever energetically every attachment to 
creatures. 

4. Let us never communicate without having the 
requisite dispositions. 

5. Let us pray for fidelity and perseverance in the 
service of God. 



NINTH MEDITATION 
JESUS TAKEN BY THE JEWS 

Then the band, and the tribune, and the servants of the 
Jews, took Jesus and bound him. — John xviii. 12. 

CONSIDEKATION 

Let us contemplate our adorable Savior advancing 
to meet his enemies after receiving the kiss of Judas. 
He is a victim going voluntarily to death, a tender lamb 
that, far from complaining when about to be led to the 
altar of sacrifice, presents itself to those who are sent 
to take its life. Nay more, he is the Son of God offering 
himself to his Father for the redemption of mankind. 

Behold him, then, face to face with his enemies, who 
seem confounded in his divine presence; for not one 
of them dares speak to him, much less seize his person. 
He must speak first, as if to lead them to express their 
intentions: 'Whom seek ye?" he asks. Their embar- 
rassment must have been so great, that they would not 
have dared to answer, had they not read in his features 
an invitation to express their thoughts, and to declare 
the motive of their coming to that place at that hour. 
They tell him, therefore, with a certain reserve, that 
they seek Jesus of Nazareth. Wishing to give them a 
new proof of his divinity, and again to offer them a 
means of salvation, Jesus answers, "I am he," and im- 
mediately all drew back and fell to the ground. 

49 



50 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

"How wonderful it is," says St. Cyril, "to see these 
barbarous men, who have come to take our adorable 
Savior prisoner, thrown to the ground by a single word 
of his ! How beautiful it is to recognize in this inci- 
dent the almighty power of God, manifesting itself in 
Jesus Christ at the moment when, like a slave, he is 
going to offer his hands to be bound!" "Cease," says 
St. Ambrose, "to speak to me of the legions of angels 
that Jesus might order from heaven; for in hurling 
his enemies to the ground with a single word, he mani- 
fests his power in a far different manner, and proves 
more effectually that he is the Messiah foretold by the 
prophets." 

Nevertheless,, it is not to prevent his enemies from 
seizing him that Jesus works this prodigy, but rather 
to make them enter into themselves. That word which 
casts them to the ground is a shaft of mercy; it is the 
grace which calls them to repentance. But, alas ! the 
voice of the Lord, which, according to Scripture, 
"breaketh the cedars," 1 is of no avail with Judas, or 
those who accompany him; their hearts are too hard- 
ened, they have abused grace too long to yield now to 
its influence. 

Yet, willing to give them still another proof of his 
power and to manifest his affection for his disciples, 
he again speaks to this band of wretches, and tells 
them with calm dignity: "If, therefore, you seek me, 
let these go their way." 2 At this command, the soldiers 
open their ranks and allow the apostles to escape, al- 
though it would have been to their interest to detain 
them together with their Master. 

*Ps. xxviii. 5. 2 John xviii. 8. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 51 

How touching is this mark of the Bedeemer's love, 
and how well it verifies the words which he had ad- 
dressed to his Father : "Of those whom thou gavest me, 
I have lost not one !" Forgetful of his own safety, he 
thinks only of his disciples; ready to accept captivity 
and death for himself, he secures to them life and 
liberty. 

Jesus is not content with giving these two tokens of 
his power ; he compels his enemies to hear his re- 
proaches. He once more addresses them and says : "Are 
you come out, as it were against a thief," he asks, "with 
swords and clubs? When I was daily with you in the 
temple, you did not stretch forth your hands against 
me." 1 How effectively this majestic language, together 
with the accompanying facts, proves that our divine 
Savior is truly God, the master of his freedom, and the 
willing victim of his sacrifice ! 

But the moment is at last come when he is to give 
full liberty of action to his enemies, "that the scrip- 
tures may be fulfilled. . . . This is your hour and the 
power of darkness." He gives himself up to their 
power. And the wretches seize him, load him with 
chains, and drag him away with them. 

Behold, then, Christian souls, behold your Savior 
bound as a malefactor; behold the true Samson taken 
by the cruel Philistines; behold the innocent lamb led 
to slaughter ; nay more, behold your God, who for your 
sakes has delivered himself to your enemies ! 

"0 cruel and perfidious soldiers !" exclaims St. 
Ambrose, "do you, then, load with chains the Author of 
life and liberty, him at whose feet you ought to cast 
J Luke xxii. 52, 53. 



5£ MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

yourselves, praying him to free you from the bonds of 
your iniquities ?" 

Alas! devoured by hatred and envy, these wicked 
men do not hesitate to accomplish their crime; they 
rejoice at having in their power him whose destruction 
they have sworn. And he, out of love for us, allows 
himself to be seized by the throat without resistance; 
he even holds out his hands to be bound by cords, in 
order to merit for us deliverance from the bonds of 
sin, wherewith the devil holds us captive. 

APPLICATION 

Let us adore the power of our divine Eedeemer who 
by a single word casts his enemies to the ground. Let 
us reflect that he often addresses the same word to us, 
and let us examine whether it produces its full effect 
in our souls. 

Does he not say to us : "I am he" whom you offend ; 
"I am he" whom you serve so badly; "I am he" who 
ought to be the continual object of your thoughts, and 
who nevertheless am seldom present to your mind, even 
on the days when I have given myself to you in the 
sacrament of my love? Oh! let us, then, learn what 
our adorable Master requires of us, and let us perform 
it generously. 

Let the power which he manifests to his enemies by 
the words, "I am he," recall to our minds that whicL 
he will manifest before the whole world when he shall 
come, at the last day, to judge all men. Let us be 
impressed with salutary fear, and say with St. Augus- 
tine: "How terrible when he shall come to reign, will 



OP OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 53 

this Jesus be, who is so terrible now when about to 

die !" 

Let us reflect that our adorable Savior permitted 
himself to be taken prisoner and bound by his enemies, 
to merit for us the grace of severing the bonds that 
keep us in sin; to obtain for us strength and courage 
to break off every attachment to creatures, every fatal 
habit that would retain us in evil, every dangerous 
connection that might become in the hands of Satan 
a chain to drag us into the abyss of evil. Let us fur- 
ther reflect that it is to obtain for us the grace to be 
attached to God alone, to his service, and to our holy 
vocation, and to remain forever united to our divine 
Eedeemer by the sweet ties of piety and charity. 

how much he has loved us ! He is truly the slave 
of his infinite charity. It is love that delivers him to 
his enemies, that binds his hands, that drags him to 
the altar of immolation. How can we recall this 
without blessing his mercy, exalting his goodness, and 
resolving to love him forever! 

PEAYEE 

Jesus! who, to break our chains, didst consent to 
be bound like a malefactor by an insolent and ferocious 
band, we give thee thanks for having freed us from the 
shameful bondage of our passions, and made us par- 
takers of the liberty of the children of God. how 
precious is the freedom which thou hast purchased for 
us ! But alas ! it often happens that we cease to value 
it, and unwillingly forfeit it. 

Unhappy that we are, thou hast delivered us from 



54 MEDITATIONS ON" THE PASSION 

the bonds of sin by the grace of baptism, and after- 
wards by that of the sacrament of penance, and we, by 
our negligence, forge for ourselves new chains! Have 
mercy on us, Lord, and help us. Grant that we may 
persevere in our present resolution of being wholly 
thine, so that our souls may have no other bonds than 
those of thy most pure love. 

Eesume, page 386. 

What subjects for meditation this circumstance pre- 
sents ! 

1. Jesus says to his enemies, "Whom seek ye?" 

2. They fall to the ground when he says, "I am he." 

3. He commands them to let the apostles go. 

4. He reproaches them for the manner in which they 
came to him. 

5. He gives them power to seize him. 

Then these wretches fall upon him and bind him as 
if he were a vile criminal. 

Then his apostles also abandon him and flee. 
— Let us reflect here : 

1. On the power of Jesus in restraining his enemies 
at will. 

2. On the goodness to them. 

3. On his free acceptance of the sufferings which he 
is about to undergo. 

4. On his love for his apostles, and their abandon- 
ment of him. 

5. On his love for us : a love which made him accept 
shameful bonds, to merit for us the grace of breaking 
the chains of sin and escaping the tyranny of the devil. 



TENTH MEDITATION 

JESUS IS BROUGHT TO JERUSALEM 

Then, apprehending him, they led him to the high priest's 
house. — Luke xxii. 54. 

CONSIDEKATION 

Jesus is in the power of his enemies. He had said: 
"The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of 
sinners," x and his words are now fulfilled. The Pas- 
sion of his soul began hours before; that of his body 
begins now. 

What sorrows, what opprobrium does he not endure ! 
Weakened by his agony and bloody sweat, heart-broken 
by the treason of Judas and the flight of the other 
Apostles, he sees himself in the power of inhuman 
soldiers who pitilessly mock and insult him. The 
prophets had described him in that state, and repre- 
sented him as a lamb surrounded by ravenous dogs, 
ferocious . wolves, and roaring lions seeking to devour 
him. 

"Hold him fast," Judas had said to the soldiers ; see 
that he does not escape. And following his advice, 
they surround him and bind him tightly with many 
cords. 

Let us contemplate the true Samson in the hands of 

*Mark xiv. 41. 
55 



56 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

these new Philistines. They exult in at last having 
him in their power, and their triumph is most insolent 
and tyrannical. Listen to their shouts of mockery and 
derision, as they call their divine captive every odious 
name, and offer him every insult, which he receives with- 
out resistance, without anger, without complaint, and 
without emotion. 

He can renew the prodigy of Samson, break his 
bonds, and deprive of life those who have bound him. 
He has but to will it, and immediately his chains shall 
be broken, and all his enemies struck dead ! But such 
is not his purpose. He desires to expiate our sins, which 
are an abuse of our liberty. He wishes to merit for us 
the grace to break the chains of our iniquities and 
evil habits. He longs to free us from the slavery of 
the devil and establish us in the liberty of the children 
of God. He is eager to merit for the martyrs and 
confessors of the faith all the graces which they shall 
need, when the enemies of religion shall seize them, 
cast them to prison, and drag them before the judg- 
ment seat. Therefore does he hold out his hands for 
the chains which are to bind them. What charity for 
us ! What devotedness in behalf of the Church ! 

"If he represses his power," says St. Leo, "if he 
permits his enemies to vent all their hatred on his 
adorable person, it is by that same will whereby he has 
always loved us." If he is in the power of his ene- 
mies, it is through love for us. love, how strong 
thou art! thou bindest God himself! 

Meanwhile, the sad procession sets forward on its 
march. What a humiliation for Jesus thus to be led 
away like a malefactor! He makes no resistance; he 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 57 

alleges neither weakness nor fatigue; he makes no 
comment on the way in which he is treated: he is a 
lamb, mute in the hands of those who lead him to 
the place of slaughter, to the altar on which he is 
to be immolated. He does all he is ordered without 
one word of complaint; he takes the way pointed out 
to him; he walks wherever his guides please, through 
mud, through water, and over stones. 

Forgetting himself to think only of reconciling us 
with heaven, he regards all the contempt, and all the 
indignity with which he is treated, as strokes of divine 
justice, avenging on his sacred humanity the sins of 
men; and he offers these sufferings to the Eternal 
Father, to obtain from his infinite mercy the pardon 
of all our iniquities. He makes no movement, breathes 
no sigh, suffers no pain, that he does not apply to 
our salvation. He thinks only of leading us from the 
way of vice and perdition to that of virtue and happiness. 

The soldiers continue to treat him with the greatest 
inhumanity. Fearing that he may escape them, or that 
some of his friends may come to deliver him, they urge 
him to hasten his steps, some pulling him by the cords 
that bind him, others brutally pushing him on; some 
striking him with sticks, others belching out the most 
revolting blasphemies and applying to him the vilest 
epithets. 

The cortege at last reaches Jerusalem. how 
different is this entry of Jesus from that which he had 
made five days before! Then a great multitude came 
forth to meet him, crying, "Hosanna to the Son of 
David!" 1 and now he is in the hands of cruel enemies 

^att. xxi. 9. 



58 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

clamoring for his death, insulting him most shamefully, 
and seeming emboldened, under cover of the darkness, 
to lay sacrilegious hands upon him. Then, with palms 
in their hands, they went to meet him as a conqueror; 
now they regard him as a criminal and treat him with 
the grossest indignity. 

strange fickleness of the world ! ingratitude 
of men unmindful of the benefits which they have re- 
ceived from Jesus, repaying only with outrage the 
miracles which he has wrought in their behalf ! 
inconceivable patience, boundless generosity of our 
divine Eedeemer, resigning himself to every humilia- 
tion to restore us to the state of glory from which we 
had fallen, and accepting all kinds of suffering and 
opprobrium as so many penalties for our sins, w T ith 
the guilt of which he is charged before his Father ! 

APPLICATION 

Let us admire the patience, the meekness, and the 
infinite charity of Jesus, the august Victim of our re- 
demption, in allowing himself to be dragged, without 
a murmur, to the altar of sacrifice ; nay rather in going 
thither of his own accord, through his great desire of 
working out our salvation. Let us compassionate his 
sufferings on this occasion when, surrounded by a crowd 
of wicked men, he is dishonored, buffeted, and treated 
as the greatest of villains. 

Let us magnify his generosity: let us never forget 
that he became a captive to deliver us from the slavery 
of sin ; that he allowed himself to be loaded with chains 
to break ours; that he was dragged to death to restore 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 59 

us to the way of life. how wonderful is his love for 
us! Who can ever celebrate worthily the divine Heart 
whence it radiates ! 

To form an idea of what we owe to him, we should 
have to comprehend the misfortune of a soul which 
is held captive by the devils and subject to their will, — 
which they degrade more and more, — cruelly tyranniz- 
ing over it, and dragging it down to the abyss of 
► everlasting tears and undying despair. What a fate! 
And it is from this fate that Jesus has delivered us 
by his sufferings ! 

Let us bless our divine Eedeemer and profit by his 
merits. Perhaps our souls are now slaves of Satan. 
If so, let us have recourse to Jesus, reminding him 
of what he has done for our deliverance ; let us beseech 
him to assist us by his grace to break the shameful 
bonds wherewith the devils hold us fast, and strengthen 
us to follow him in the narrow way which alone leads 
to life. Let us then walk in his footsteps. With him, 
let us take the way of suffering and humiliation, and 
we shall one day arrive with him at the abode of ever- 
lasting bliss and glory. 

PKAYER 

Jesus ! who, in order to merit for us the privilege 
of being freed from the devils, didst suffer thyself to be 
dragged ignominiously from Gethsemane to Jerusalem, 
and along the streets of that city through which thou 
hadst so often passed multiplying thy benefits, be mer- 
ciful to sinners! How pitiable is their lot! Thy ene- 
mies and ours hold them in their power, and lead them 



60 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

whithersoever they will, nay, even drag them down to 
hell. come to their assistance, and save them ! 

Jesus, have mercy on my poor soul. Alas ! am T 
not myself the slave of demons ? Do they not keep me 
in the bonds of self-love, pride, and sloth? do they 
not drag me whither they will ? are they not leading me 
on to tepidity, to bring me afterwards to sin and death ? 
Grant, by thy grace, that I may break these odious 
chains, so that till death I may be a slave to thy love 
alone. 

Eesume, page 386. 

Jesus is in the power of his enemies. 
The divine Victim advances to the altar of sacrifice. 
Let us follow him in this painful journey. 

1. Jesus is bound and is surrounded by soldiers. 

2. They oblige him to walk, even to hasten his steps. 

3. They pitilessly insult him. 

4. He enters Jerusalem. What a difference between 
this entrance and that of five days before ! 

5. He traverses the streets of the ungrateful city. 
— Contemplating him in these sad circumstances, 

1. Let us admire his patience and his meekness. 

2. Let us admire his generosity towards us; for he 
delivers himself up to his enemies in order to free us 
from the power of the enemies of our salvation. 

3. Let us pity the souls whom the devil holds captive. 

4. Let us see whether our soul be not of that number. 

5. Let us hasten to break, by grace, the bonds of sin. 



ELEVENTH MEDITATION 
JESUS BEFORE ANNAS 

They led him away to Annas first, for he was father-in-law to 
Caiphas. — John xviii. 13. 

CONSIDERATION 

Let us consider our divine Savior in the power of his 
enemies, who have determined to effect his ruin. They 
wish to have him declared guilty of death, and to have 
this judgment confirmed by the governor. But what 
reason can they assign for the condemnation of a man 
who had defied them to convict him of a single sin? 
Above all, how is Pilate to be induced to sanction a 
sentence which lacks sufficient grounds and is there- 
fore evidently unjust? Their envy and hatred might 
indeed lead them to sacrifice an innocent man, but they 
have no reason to think that the governor shares their 
sentiments. And yet his concurrence is indispensable 
to the realization of their designs. 

It was expedient, then, that they should put forward 
some apparently reasonable pretext for making accusa- 
tions against Jesus. Hence they adopted the plan of 
indicting him before their own tribunals, and of after- 
wards concerting accordifig to his answers, the charges 
to bring against him before Pilate's tribunal. 

They begin by taking him to Annas, the former high- 
priest, a proud, avaricious, cruel, and voluptuous man, 

61 



62 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

an inveterate enemy of the life and person of Jesus. 
Having grown old in malice, he was the fittest person 
to enter into the views of the other enemies of our 
divine Savior, and to suggest the means of securing the 
condemnation of the Just Man, whose ruin they were 
compassing. They wished also to give him the bar- 
barous satisfaction of seeing at his feet the man whose 
virtue and reputation so strongly excited his hatred 
and envy. 

In the hope that this time they would be successful 
in their efforts to bring the Savior before him for 
judgment, Annas had all things prepared; the tribunal 
was erected, the judges were assembled, and his parti- 
sans were warned to be ready to applaud the iniquitous 
sentence which he hoped to pronounce. 

Meanwhile Jesus arrives and is brought by the sol- 
diers into that impious assembly; all eyes are turned 
on him, and each one seems to have no thought, no 
desire, no ambition, but to see him confounded, hum- 
bled, and condemned to death. 

Let us, with the liveliest compassion, contemplate 
him in the state to which he is reduced. There he 
stands as a criminal in the presence of his enemies; 
his torn and disordered garments bear witness to the 
ill treatment which he has already received; his face 
is pale and haggard; his head is bowed, his eyes are 
cast down ; his hair, still damp with the sweat of agony, 
falls dishevelled on his shoulders; his knees are bend- 
ing with fatigue; his hands are bound and manacled 
like those of a common malefactor; his ears hear 
nothing but insults and blasphemies against his ador- 
able person and his divine doctrine ; his heart is steeped 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 63 

in the bitterest sorrow. He is, indeed, the Victim of 
the great sacrifice, the Lamb about to be immolated by 
the fury of men to the justice of God which he is to 
satisfy for our crimes. 

Annas interrogates Jesus; but our divine Master 
refuses to answer him. His silence, which afforded his 
enemies an occasion of re-entering into themselves, did 
but increase their fury, and because it defeated their 
projects, only served to renew their cruel outrages 
against him. 

what a subject of wonder to the celestial spirits 
was the Most High, the thrice holy God, standing 
before a wretched man as a criminal before his judge ! 
What must have been their surprise and indignation, 
at hearing an infamous sinner address reproaches to 
him who is virtue itself — at seeing a vile creature 
authoritatively question his Creator, an ignorant man 
attempt to catch in his words the very Wisdom of God, 
a sacrilegious priest arrogate to himself the right of 
judging the eternal Pontiff ! 

Like them, let us be filled with awe. But let us 
not be surprised; for although we know by too sad an 
experience that man is capable of all evil, yet we know 
also that the heart of our Savior is too generous not 
to drain alone, through love for us, this chalice of 
sorrow and humiliation. He drinks it in long draughts 
now when he gives all the powers of darkness freedom 
to act; he suffers cruel pains in that hall where of all 
that multitude there is not one but insults and abuses 
him. 

And yet he remains calm and resigned : he utters not 
a word, he makes no complaint. His heart is incapable 



64 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

of hatred or resentment, and is filled with love and 
pity for his enemies. He offers to his divine Father 
the ill treatment which he receives, and he prays for 
the salvation of those even who abuse him. 

APPLICATION" 

Let us learn from the example of our divine Ee- 
deemer to bear without complaint the injustice of men, 
and to love even our enemies. Disciples of a God 
despised, hated, and calumniated, need we be surprised, 
dare we complain, at being treated like our Master ? If 
we are accused, despised, and rejected, let us think of 
Jesus before Annas. Let us listen to the accusations 
made against him, and the insult addressed to him; 
and then let us ask ourselves whether we have a right 
to pride ourselves on a reputation often ill-understood, 
whilst our Lord and our God was buffeted and over- 
whelmed with degradation. 

Let us, therefore, be patient and resigned, if we are 
humbled or outraged, if all manner of evil is said of 
us falsely ! Did not Jesus suffer infinitely more ? Are 
we like him, free from blame? Can we challenge our 
enemies to convict us of sin? We are deceived if we 
hope to sanctify ourselves in any other way than that 
of humility and abnegation. It is the only one that 
Christ followed; no other can lead to salvation. 

Let us take care lest some disorderly passion be the 
principle of our words, actions, or conduct; let us often 
examine the motive from which we act ; whether we truly 
seek God and not the gratification of self-love. Let us 
watch carefully over tke affections of our heart and the 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 65 

thoughts of our mind, so as to exclude all envy and 
jealousy ; let us reflect whither those passions led the 
Jews in their treatment of our Lord. Let us love our 
brothers; lqt charity reign supreme in our souls. Let 
our line of conduct be the very opposite of that of the 
Pharisees ; let us be severe towards ourselves and indul- 
gent to others. 

Let us always act with uprightness and simplicity, 
avoiding all deceit and cunning, for sooner or later 
the double mind shall be confounded. Let us keep 
faithfully to this line of conduct; and we shall thus 
gladden the divine heart of Jesus, offer him some repa- 
ration for the outrages which he endured from the Jews, 
and apply to ourselves the merits of his sacrifice. 

PEAYEE 

Jesus, eternal Wisdom, they are indeed fools who 
oppose thee! Thy very silence suffices to defeat their 
schemes, and put them to confusion! Give me, I be- 
seech thee, simplicity and uprightness of heart, that 
I may never be inspired with that carnal prudence 
which is but folly in thy eyes, and which ends only 
in confusion. Free me, my God ! from all envy and 
prejudice, and grant that charity alone may reign in 
my soul. 

Grant me also the grace of sincere humility. 
How shameful it is that I resemble thee so little! I 
have beheld thee an object of contempt to men: shall 
I, then, still desire their esteem ? no ! let it be so 
no more, my divine Master ! Grant me grace to walk 
faithfully in thy footsteps, and to prize only what may 
render me conformable to thee. 



66 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

Eesume, page 387. 

Jesus is conducted to Annas, a jealous and cunning 
old man. 

Let us contemplate our divine Savior before this 
first tribunal : 

1. He is standing, bound like an infamous criminal. 

2. His disheveled hair and disordered garments re- 
veal the cruel treatment which he has already endured. 

3. They cease not to insult him. 

4. The high-priest interrogates him. 

5. But Jesus keeps silence, and thus defeats the pro- 
ject of the Jews, who wish to find in his words matter 
for accusation against him. 

— Let us gather for the fruits of this meditation, 

1. To suffer with patience and resignation. 

2. To be charitable even to our enemies. 

3. Never to complain of any injustice. 

4. To free ourselves from all prejudice and jealousy, 
to judge no one unfavorably. 

5. Always to act with uprightness and simplicity. 



TWELFTH MEDITATION 
JESUS IS BROUGHT TO CAIPHAS 

Annas sent him bound to Caiphas, the high priest. — 
John xviii. 24. 

CONSIDEKATION" 

Let us contemplate our divine Savior still standing 
before the pontiff Annas, who continues to humiliate 
him and to put him insidious questions. But he 
makes no reply and thus disconcerts his enemies. Hence 
this first examination is of no avail. Eternal Wisdom 
defeats the malice of hell, and proves that there is 
nothing blameworthy in the conduct of Jesus, and that, 
consequently, those who sought his condemnation are 
themselves deserving of such sentence. 

But these wretches, blinded by envy, do not reflect 
on the injustice of their conduct; they are determined 
to carry out their iniquitous design. Annas can find 
nothing reprehensible in Jesus; nevertheless, he orders 
him to be still more tightly bound, and to be brought 
before the tribunal of Caiphas, his son-in-law, who 
was high priest for that year. 

Let us behold our divine Eedeemer again dragged 
along by those who had treated him so inhumanly in 
the journey from the Garden of Olives to Jerusalem; 
let us accompany him from the tribunal of Annas 
to that of Caiphas, where he is to undergo greater 

67 



68 Meditations on the passion 

insults than those he has already experienced, after 
suffering on the way all sorts of indignity and outrage. 

Let us contemplate him traversing the streets of 
Jerusalem on that night of gloom and guilt. He is 
bound with cords, as we learn from the holy Gospel; 
his steps are tottering, his whole appearance denotes 
excessive fatigue, nay, utter prostration. And yet the 
soldiers and the servants mock his pains and pitilessly 
insult him ; they pull violently the cords that bind him ; 
they push him rudely from side to side; they seem to 
profit by the darkness of night to exercise their cruelty 
more freely. Among these wretches are several Phari- 
sees, who scoff at him and mock him. Thus it is that 
the horrible series of sacrilegious mockeries commences, 
which shall continue till the moment when our divine 
Savior expires on Calvary. Who shall tell us what he 
is now suffering? who shall fathom the abyss of grief 
in which his heart is plunged? 

He is king of Sion, and he receives in Sion, and from 
his own subjects, only outrage and ignominy; he is 
preceded and followed by a great crowd, clamoring for 
his death. The noise along the route, made by this 
hideous mob, awakes the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who 
inquire what is going on, and soon come forth to in- 
crease the already large number of those who are de- 
manding his death. 

If, from time to time, Jesus raises his eyes, he sees 
not even one of his own followers to console him, at 
least b}^ his presence; he meets no pitying face. In 
those streets of Jerusalem where he had performed so 
many cures, he beholds only enemies eager for his 
ruin. what a sword of grief pierces his divine 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 69 

soul ! Those who abuse him and seek to compass his 
death, are his own people, his own children; and he 
has for them infinitely more love than the fondest of 
mothers could have for an only son. His love for them 
is without bounds, and he is despised, hated, and re- 
jected by them. All are animated with the same fury 
against him, all load him with curses as they drag him 
before a bloody tribunal ! 

How eloquently the state to which he is reduced in 
the very first stages of his grievous passion speaks to 
our hearts ! Come, my children, our adorable Master 
seems to say; behold how much I love you, since it is 
for you that I submit to such humiliation. Behold me 
in the power of furious enemies. No one takes up my 
defence; my friends and my kindred have abandoned 
me, my apostles have forsaken me; I bear alone the 
weight of my sorrow, because I must bear alone the 
burden of your iniquities. The pain that I feel is that 
which your crimes have deserved; the chains wherewith 
I am loaded, are the bonds whereby the devil held you 
captive and was dragging you to the eternal abyss. I 
patiently suffer my enemies to utter the most horrible 
imprecations against me, in order to preserve 3^ou from 
the curse of God which you have deserved. I resign 
myself to all their ill-treatment in order to save you 
from the punishment reserved for sinners. In order to 
preserve you from the sentence of damnation which 
was so justly your due, I will permit the tribunal be- 
fore which they are bringing me, to pronounce an in- 
iquitous sentence upon me. 

what should be our sentiments of gratitude at 
the sight of our Lord's devotedness in sacrificing him- 



70 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

self for us, in allowing himself for our sakes to be 
dragged ignominiously through the streets of Jerusa- 
lem, to be brought before the supreme tribunal of the 
nation, and there to be interrogated and judged as a 
criminal ! 

He is the thrice holy God, and he consents to be taken 
prisoner, and afterwards condemned as a malefactor; 
nay, he is even now condemned by the members of the 
grand Council, before whom he has not yet appeared, 
but who long ago decided to pass sentence of death 
upon him. He is a victim foredoomed to a cruel immo- 
lation, resigning himself to every pain in order to 
expiate our sins. 

APPLICATION 

We have contemplated our adorable Savior, the 
anointed King of Sion, given up to the power of the 
wicked, ignominiously dragged through the streets of 
Jerusalem, receiving nought but outrage in the very 4 
capital, — hearing, instead of acclamations and shouts 
of joy, only insults, curses, and blasphemies. 

Let us not forget this circumstance of his passion, 
when, in the discharge of our duties, we pass along 
the streets of the city in which we are employed. Let 
us be recollected, modest, united with God ; let us pray, 
meditate, and watch over our senses. Should we be- 
come objects of derision, let us esteem ourselves blessed 
in being treated like our divine Master; like him, let 
us bear this with patience and resignation, and pray 
for the conversion of those who insult us. 

Let us, by our fervor and fidelity in the service of 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 71 

Jesus, try to make him forget the sorrow wherewith his 
divine heart was overwhelmed during his passion. Let 
us revive in our hearts the most lively sentiments of 
love for him and gratitude for his benefits to us, re- 
membering that he endured curses and blasphemies to 
merit for us the grace not to be accursed of God his 
Father; and that he endured all manner of abuse in 
order to free us from the everlasting pain and con- 
tempt that we ought to suffer on account of our sins. 

With thoughts like these in our minds, how could 
we fail to love him with the greatest love, to bless and 
thank him unceasingly, and devote ourselves unre- 
servedly to him; regretting only our inability to do 
more for his glory? 

Let us prostrate ourselves in his presence, offer him 
our homage, and form the sincere resolution, not only 
to do nothing that might displease him, but also to 
act in all things, only through love for him and in 
perfect conformity to his divine will. 

PEAYEE 

I adore thee, my divine Eedeemer, as thou art led 
from the house of Annas to that of Caiphas, and left 
to the mercy of a band of wretches who unceasingly 
insult and maltreat thee in every possible way. They 
know that the people still favor thee; wherefore they 
profit by the darkness of night to torture thee and glut 
their rage upon thee. Soon alas! they will gain over 
the populace, and then they will no longer fear to 
abuse thee in open day and before the multitude. 
Hence, the very darkness of night is for thee, at this 



72 MEDITATIONS OX THE PASSION 

moment, an occasion of suffering, to which thou re- 
signest thyself without uttering a single complaint. 

But why, my adorable Savior, wouldst thou suffer 
by night and by day? Is it not because thou art the 
Victim of expiation, and night and day have been 
equally profaned by our sins ? Oh ! grant that I may 
weep both day and night for those sins which are the 
true cause of thy suffering, and that I may never more 
commit them. 

Kesume, page 387, 

Let us contemplate Jesus Christ : 

1. Humbled and derided before Annas. 

2. Bound tightly and sent to Caiphas. 

3. Traversing the streets of Jerusalem. 

4. Enduring all sorts of insult. 

5. Suffering himself to be conducted before the 
assembly of the wicked, who are eager to take away his 
life. 

— Let us enter his divine heart and admire its senti- 
ments. 

1. What patience! what resignation! 

2. He has only kind feelings for even his most cruel 
enemies. 

3. He loves them and wishes their salvation. 

4. He loves all men and sacrifices himself for them. 

5. He offers for each and every one of them, himself 
and his sufferings to his heavenly Father. 

How can we help loving him most ardently, and 
devoting ourselves unreservedly to him ! 



THIRTEENTH MEDITATION 
JESUS BEFORE CAIPHAS 

They . . . led him to Caiphas, the high priest. — Matt. xxvi. 57. 

CONSIDEKATION 

Let us consider before what persons Jesus is about 
to appear. Annas sends him bound to Caiphas, his 
son-in-law, and to the council of the ancients and doc- 
tors of the law assembled at the house of that pontiff. 

Caiphas was a cunning man who, St. Jerome asserts, 
had sold the pontifical dignity for gold. He had long 
been seeking the death of Jesus, and he had given 
public proof of this in an assembly called together 
after the resurrection of Lazarus. For on that occasion, 
addressing the Pharisees present, he spoke these words, 
the full meaning of which he did not then understand : 
"You know nothing at all; neither do you consider 
that it is expedient for you that one man should die 
for the people, and that the whole nation perish not." 1 

Caiphas was the author of the base plot formed 
against Jesus, whose most cruel and hypocritical enemy 
he is. It was he that sent his servants to Gethsemane 
to seize our divine Master, and bring him into his 
presence. At this late hour of the night, he assembles 
in his house, the council of the nation, composed of 
^ohn xi. 49, 50. 
73 



74 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

enemies of Jesus, of which he is president by virtue of 
his office. 

Let us go in spirit to the hall where the priests, the 
ancients of the people, and the doctors of the law, are 
seated, awaiting the arrival of the august Captive. 
They form that iniquitous assembly of which the Holy 
Ghost had said by the mouth of David: "From the 
face of the wicked who have afflicted me. My enemies 
have surrounded my soul." * They likewise fulfil the 
words of the book of Wisdom, that the wicked form 
plots against the just, saying: "Let us condemn him 
to a most shameful death." 2 

. How clearly these words reveal the perversity ani- 
mating the chiefs of the Jewish nation at this moment 
which Jesus has called the "hour of the powers of 
darkness !" After deciding beforehand to put to death 
him whose holiness and justice excited their' envy, it 
is indeed they who say among themselves : "Let us con- 
demn him," and not, "Let us examine whether he de- 
serves to be condemned." 

They know that in him there is nothing to censure, 

for he has publicly said to them, "Which of you shall 

convince me of sin?" 3 They know that his whole life 

has been spent in doing good to men; they know that 

he has healed the sick, driven out devils, and raised 

many of the dead to life. "But," says St. Augustine, 

"these wretches appear to have forgotten this, and like 

persons in the delirium of fever, they are angry with 

the physician who has come to cure them, and they 

combine to destroy him." 4 

^s. xvi. 9. 2 Wisdom ii. 20. 3 John viii. 46. 

^Treatise on Psalms, Ps. lxiii. 2. 



0E OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 75 

The chief priests and the doctors of the law are 
those husbandmen mentioned in the Gospel, to whom 
the father of the family sent his own son, and who plot 
and say to one another: "This is the heir; come, let 
us kill him, and . . . cast him out of the vineyard." x 

This tribunal, before which Jesus is about to appear, 
is not composed of upright men, assembled to examine 
his case and administer justice to him; but rather of 
murderers who have usurped the place of judges, and 
have but one end in view, the immolation of him whom 
they make a pretence of trying. what injustice! 
what a subversion of all order ! what hypocrisy ! They 
are criminals, miserable slaves of their passions; and 
they arrogate to themselves the right of summoning 
before them to be judged him who is justice itself, him 
who is the supreme judge of the living and the dead! 
Under the pretence of defending law and religion, they 
plot the death of the supreme Law-giver, the very 
Author of religion ! Apparently, they are animated by 
zeal for divine worship; but, in reality, they are con- 
sumed by a base and cruel envy of him whose glory 
and sanctity they cannot endure. 

Such are the men before whom Jesus is about to be 
arraigned. As, ignominiously bound, and surrounded by 
soldiers and the servants of the high-priest, he arrives 
in the hall where they are assembled, all eyes 
are turned upon him, and every member of the council 
manifests a barbarous pleasure in seeing him in the 
attitude of a criminal awaiting sentence. 

Who shall tell us the feelings of our adorable Master ? 
He sees only enemies, who have no fear of God and no 
'Matt. xxi. 38, 39. 



76 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

reverence for the laws of justice. In that assembly of 
the wicked, he appears crushed by the weight of his 
humiliations, with nothing to meet his gaze but what 
increases his pain and sorrow. No words but those of 
insult and blasphemy strike his ear; no friendly look 
meets his eye ; no one takes up his defence, no one says 
a word in his behalf, no one recalls the holiness of his 
life, no one speaks of the sublimity of his doctrine nor 
of the good that he has done. All seek his death with- 
out having even the shadow of a reason for so doing, 
without being able to convict him of any fault or any 
violation of law. "And this," says St. Augustine, "is 
their great iniquity; for it is at this moment that he 
might again say to them: 'Many good works I have 
shown to you from my Father ; for which of those works 
do you take my life V " x 

But no ! he does not repeat these words, for now his 
hour has come. The willing Victim of the great sacri- 
fice, he remains calm and silent; he offers himself to 
his divine Father as a hostage for our reconciliation 
with heaven. He merits for the holy martyrs and the 
confessors of the faith that superhuman strength and 
courage which they are to manifest, in the course of 
ages, before tyrants and executioners. 

APPLICATION 

Let us pay homage to Jesus our divine Savior; let 

as adore him as king of martyrs; and let us beseech 

him, through what he suffered at the tribunal of Cai- 

phas, to give us the strength and courage necessary to 

Mohn x. 32. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 77 

persevere to the end in fulfilling the duties of our state. 

Let the consideration of the perversity shown by his 
enemies inspire us with the greatest horror of all hy- 
pocrisy; let us always be frank and sincere; let us be- 
fore God and men be what we ought to be. Let us 
guard against gratifying our personal resentment under 
pretence of furthering the interests of religion. 

With the picture of the sorrows of Jesus before our 
eyes, let us excite ourselves more and more to gratitude 
to him who, being Son of God and equal to the Father, 
so devoted himself for us as to become the Victim of 
our redemption. Let us remember that he endures 
these pains only for our sakes, and to deliver us from 
the everlasting torments which we have deserved. Let 
us try, then, to understand better what he has done for 
our salvation, to make him a return of devotedness, and 
to give him love for love. 

Let his example lead us to the practice of patience 
and mortification. Let us offer to God the Father 
some sacrifice in the course of this day, in union with 
what Jesus suffered at the tribunal of Caiphas: and to 
assure the fulfillment of our resolution, let us imagine 
that we see him in the presence of his enemies, pa- 
tiently listening to their calumnies, and for our sake 
bearing all ill-treatment. 

PKAYEE 

I behold thee, Jesus, at the feet of Caiphas, and I 
see thee, the Pontiff of pontiffs, who art innocence and 
sanctity itself treated as a criminal ! What confusion 
thou dost feel, my God ! Ah ! what thought can be 



78 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

more fit than this to confound my pride and suscepti- 
bility? I can bear nothing; and yet I call thee, who 
didst drain the chalice of humiliation to the dregs, my 
Master and Model. 

I blush in thy presence for the inconsistency of my 
conduct, and I purpose for the future to act in a manner 
truly conformable to the example which thou hast 
given me. I will often recall it during this day, and 
if I have any thing to suffer, I will contemplate thee 
in the presence of thy enemies; and the desire of be- 
coming by thy grace, like unto thee, being thereby 
excited in my heart, I will become patient in adversity 
and disposed to bear all things for thy sake. 

Besume, page 388. 

Let us go in spirit into the grand council hall of 
the Jews. 

1. There the Savior's enemies are assembled. 

2. Their hearts are devoured by jealousy. 

3. They wish him to be condemned to death. 

4. Jesus is led into their presence. 

5. All regard him with eyes full of hatred and ani- 
mosity. 

— God, what a spectacle ! 

1. The King of kings, the Lord of lords, is loaded 
with shameful bonds. 

2. The Judge of the living and the dead is cited be- 
fore the tribunal of sinners. 

3. Iniquity is about to pronounce sentence on inno- 
cence. 

4. Under the forms of justice the most odious in- 
justice is consummated. 

5. Jesus Christ is here the chief of martyrs, meriting 
for those heroes of religion the grace to confess their 
faith before the tribunals of men. 



FOURTEENTH MEDITATION 
JESUS RECEIVES A BLOW 

One of the officers standing by gave Jesus a blow. — 
John xviii. 22. 

CONSIDEKATION 

Let us contemplate our divine Savior standing in 
the midst of the great council of the Jews, that as- 
sembly of proud Pharisees who regard him with con- 
tempt, who treat as a worthless creature, as a false 
prophet, and a seducer, the God by whom all subsists, 
the promised Messiah, who is holiness itself ! 

Let us admire him listening mildly and silently to 
his enemies. They put a multitude of questions to him 
for the purpose of ensnaring him, and so obtaining 
some ground for accusing and condemning him ; but he 
does not see fit to answer them. . Then the high-priest 
interrogates him on his disciples and his doctrine, 
flattering himself, says St. John Chrysostom, that he 
would find something reprehensible in . his words, and 
thus be enabled to represent him as a seditious charac- 
ter and a dangerous innovator in matters of religion. 1 

Our divine Master might remain silent, as he had 

done before; but he will not do so. He is now to give 

proof to all men that his doctrine is not a hidden 

doctrine. He answers calmly and mildly: "I have 

^om. 82. 

79 



80 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in 
the synagogue, and in the temple, whither ail the Jews 
resort; and in private I have spoken nothing. Why 
askest thou me ? Ask them who have heard what I 
have spoken to them: behold, they know what things 
I have said." 1 

"One can imagine nothing," says St. Augustine, 
"sweeter, more sensible, or more just than these 
words." By them, Jesus makes known to all, that his 
teaching has always been public; that, consequently, 
he- never feared to have it examined. By them he 
appeals to all people, even to his very enemies them- 
selves. Furthermore, he could not have directly eulo- 
gized his own doctrine before those ill-disposed men 
who, as indeed they had already done, would have 
reproached him with giving testimony of himself. 2 

His answer was then eminently sensible; but those 
to whom it was addressed were exasperated because it 
was not favorable to their criminal design. It was the 
more vexatious to their pride because it was perfectly 
reasonable, and contained absolutely nothing for them 
to censure: hence their spite became visible on their 
faces, and their eyes expressed a desire of brutal re- 
venge. 

Then it was that an officer, or rather a vile slave, of 
the high-priest, entering into the intentions of the 
members of the council, drew near to Jesus, raised his 
sacrilegious hand, and struck him violently in the face, 
saying, "Answerest thou the high-priest so?" 

"At sight of this outrage," says St. Ephraim, "the 
heavens are dismayed, aad the angels shudder with 
'John xviii. 20, 21. 2 IMd. xviii. 22, 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 81 

horror." They are astonished that the earth does not 
open and swallow the wretch who has dared commit 
an act so barbarous, a sacrilege so horrible! 

"0 indignity ! affront !" exclaims St. Chrysostom ; 
"can we imagine an outrage more grievous, an insult 
more revolting ?" What ! The King of glory is mal- 
treated by a vile slave ! The Son of God is struck by a 
base hireling ! That august face before which the celes- 
tial spirits, unable to bear its splendor, veil themselves 
with their wings, is bruised by the hand of a wretched 
mortal! . . . And it is before the first of tribunals 
that this crime is committed with impunity, in presence 
of the high-priest of the law and by one of the people 
in his service ! 

If this wretch had struck one of his equals, he would 
have been most culpable; if he had struck an earthly 
sovereign, he would have been guilty of high treason, 
and would have incurred the full severity of the law. 
By what name, then, can we designate his crime, in 
daring to strike the Son of God himself, and what 
punishment can be adequate to such an insult? 

But let us not be content with exciting our hearts to 
indignation against this sacrilegious servant and the 
members of the iniquitous tribunal which authorizes 
his crime; let us cast ourselves at the feet of our ador- 
able Savior to make reparation to him. Let us also 
beg him to teach us why he suffered himself to be 
buffeted in a manner so cruel and so humiliating. We 
shall learn that he bore the outrage that we might con- 
ceive something of his grief and shame at the conduct 
of those who are ashamed of him and his religion, 
who refuse to acknowledge him as their God, and 



82 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

to pay him the homage of their hearts. We shall 
learn that he endured it not only to expiate our pride 
and our sins of human respect, but also to excite us to 
follow him courageously in the way of humiliation, and 
to merit for us the grace to do so. 

What an example he gives us when he presents his 
face to be buffeted, when he, who soon will offer his 
whole body to receive the blows of the executioners, 
now endures without complaint or murmur the great- 
est of all insults ! 

If he speaks, it is not to address reproaches to the 
wretch who has struck him, but to lead him to reflect 
upon his deed, and to excite him to salutary repentance. 
It is to give a useful lesson to the high priest and the 
other members of the Council. It is to prove that as 
a faithful observer of the law which he has come to 
accomplish, he has always given the example of the 
greatest respect towards the high-priest; that, having 
nowise deserved this punishment, he endures the blow 
for us, the true criminals, who, on account of our want 
of respect towards God, deserve to be treated with the 
greatest contempt for all eternity. 

APPLICATION 

Let us, then, understand the precious teachings 
which our divine Master gives us by his words and 
deeds. Let us learn of him that he is really meek and 
humble of heart, and beg of him the grace to imitate 
him, to suffer, like him and for his sake, every painful, 
annoying, and humiliating circumstance that may hap- 
pen to us. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 83 

"By what right," says St. Athanasius, "would we, 
sinners as we are, dare complain of the injustice of 
our brethren to us, when we see the Son of God, in- 
nocence itself, bear with so much patience, through love 
of us, the atrocious insults offered him by men?" No, 
no ! Let us not be jealous of our fellow-beings who 
are esteemed; let us not be susceptible on the point 
of honor. If we would really be disciples of Jesus 
Christ, let us imitate his meekness, let us bear patiently 
and for his sake the injustice of those who, in common 
with us, have the nature of man, the condition of slave, 
the sad quality of sinner. Let us with our whole 
heart, thank our adorable Savior for having endured 
so great an insult in order to expiate our sins of pride, 
and to preserve us from the eternal confusion which we 
have deserved by our transgressions. 

Let us be his, entirely his; and let us prove our 
fidelity by avoiding with the greatest care all that may 
be displeasing to him. Let us remember that every 
sin is an outrage infinitely more sensible to his tender 
heart than the blow that he received at the tribunal of 
Caiphas. Let us therefore sin no more; and let us, by 
our fidelity, atone for all the faults which we have 
had the misfortune to commit up to this day. 

PRAYER 

most kind Jesus ! who, far from turning away thy 
face from the wretch who strikes thee, dost regard him 
with eyes full of charity and dost offer him the kiss 
of reconciliation ; neither turn away from me who have, 
alas ! so cruelly struck thee by my sins. Look upon 
me in thy charity, and forgive me. 



84 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

Grant also that, by thy grace, I may imitate thy 
meekness; that, walking in thy footsteps, I may for 
thy sake, accept with resignation all the humiliations 
which it may please thee to send me, and that I may 
never tolerate in my heart any other sentiments than 
those of patience, forgiveness of injuries, and sub- 
mission to thy holy will. 

Eesume, page 388. 

Let us contemplate Jesus standing before his enemies 
who are assembled to judge him. 

1. The high-priest interrogates him on his doctrine. 

2. Jesus tells him that he had always taught publicly 
in the temple, and bids him ask those who had heard 
him. 

3. This wise answer irritates his enemies. 

4. One of the servants present raises his sacrilegious 
hand and strikes him on the face. 

5. And no one in the council censures this odious 
deed! 

— Jesus ! why dost thou suffer this ? It is, 

1. To teach us to suffer, and to suffer from all. 

2. To teach us humility. 

3. To expiate our sins of pride. 

4. To save us from the eternal confusion which we 
have deserved by our sins. 

5. To make us understand how sensitive thy divine 
Heart is to the outrages of our sins. 



FIFTEENTH MEDITATION 
JESUS ACCUSED BY FALSE WITNESSES 

The chief priests, and the whole council, sought false witness 
against Jesus. — Matt. xxvi. 59. 

CONSIDEKATION 

Let us consider with horror to what a depth of wick- 
edness the enemies of our divine Master have descended ; 
they propose the most iniquitous of ends, they act on the 
most depraved sentiments, they employ the most unjust 
means. 

The end which they have in view is to malign and 
put to death Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the King 
of kings; yet they know his sanctity and have received 
only benefits from his hands. It is to annihilate as far 
as possible his doctrine and his honor; it is to destroy 
the work of salvation which he came to accomplish. 
Can anything more criminal be conceived ? 

And why do they form this design? What motives 
but envy and jealousy, the basest of passions, can incite 
them to this? The devil has taken possession of their 
hearts; and therefore those malignant spirits fill them 
with their own hatred of him who is preeminently just, 
and with their own desire to see him humbled and put 
to death. 

Impelled by these vicious sentiments, they employ the 
most odious means to attain their end. Already they 

85 



86 MEDITATIONS OK THE PASSION 

have called to their aid treachery, hypocrisy, and vio- 
lence ; now they have recourse to falsehood and perjury : 
"The chief priests and the whole council sought false 
witness against Jesus that they might put him to 
death." 1 

Behold, then, the extraordinary spectacle of judges 
who, although obliged by their office to punish false 
witnesses, yet seek them out, incite them to come and 
perjure themselves, and not only promise them impunity, 
but even reward, if their deposition enables these un- 
worthy magistrates to pass sentence of death on Jesus. 
What a subversion of all order ! What incredible malice ! 

iniquitous judges! you seek false witnesses, and 
why? Because truthful witnesses would not depose 
against him whose unjust condemnation you desire ; be- 
cause only the most audacious falsehood can incriminate 
him who is innocence and holiness itself; because you 
would fain give the greatest errors some semblance of 
truth; because you would veil under judicial forms the 
deicide which you are about to commit; because you 
would first by calumny kill in the estimation of men him 
for whose delivery to the executioners you are seeking a 
pretext; because the life of the Just One is displeasing 
to you, and you would fain persuade yourselves and 
others that he is not just. 

Besides, your base act is written in the books of which 
you are interpreters: "Unjust witnesses have risen up 
against me," 2 said David, the image of the Messiah; 
"but," he elsewhere adds, "let them be confounded and 
ashamed that seek my soul." 3 

x Matt. xxvi. 59. 2 Ps. xxvi. 12. 

3 Ps. xxxix. 15; lxix. 3. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 8? 

Now, this is precisely what happens at the tribunal 
of Caiphas; the evidence, far from verifying any of 
the charges made against Jesus, only reveals the 
infamous plot laid by his enemies. Not one of his many 
calumniators can prove him guilty of even the slightest 
transgression. Many of them contradict what others 
have said; and so this whole intrigue results only in 
manifesting the innocence of the Accused and the malice 
of the enemies. "0 triumph of the innocence of Jesus !" 
exclaims Origen; "amid all these suborned witnesses, 
calumny finds not even the slightest fault with which 
to charge him !" 

At last two witnesses present themselves, and af- 
firm that he said: "I am able to destroy the temple 
of God, and in three days to rebuild it." * This ac- 
cusation was indeed grave, but it was also false; 
hence the Gospel styles those who made it, "false 
witnesses." 

It was grave, because it was meant to ruin Jesus in 
the estimation of the Jews, who were so jealous of the 
glory of their temple that to speak against it was to 
speak against the nation itself, of which it was a symbol. 
Therefore in having Jesus accused of designing to de- 
stroy it, Caiphas took the most infallible means of 
exciting the prejudices of the people against the Victim 
of his envy. 

But this accusation was false. Our divine Savior had 
said, speaking of his body, "Destroy this temple :" 2 but, 
distorting the meaning of his words, they affirm that 
he said, "I will destroy this temple." Thus, by a perfidi- 
ous stratagem, they charge him with intending to com-.. 
'Matt. xxvi. 61. 2 John ii. 19. 



88 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

mit the sacrilege which the Jews themselves were soon 
to accomplish. / 

perfidious judges ! do you not reflect that you are 
already fulfilling the first part of his prophecy; since, 
in conspiring to take his life, you labor to destroy his 
adorable body, that living temple wherein "dwelleth 
all the fullness of the Godhead ?" * Do you also reflect 
that he will accomplish the second part of his prophecy ; 
that he will restore that temple after three days, and that 
it will be the sign of your condemnation and ruin, as 
well as the cause of his glory and the source of his tri- 
umph ? But no ! blinded by your passions, you think of 
nothing but carrying out your criminal design, to accom- 
plish which you shrink not even from the crime of perjury. 

Let us, who contemplate our God and Savior in the 
presence of his iniquitous judges consider him, listening 
in silence to the accusations of his enemies, without 
refuting the calumnies wherewith they brand him, not 
even that whereby they render him odious to the people. 

It would have been easy for him to establish his inno- 
cence directly; for, had he wished it, the sick whom 
he had cured, the possessed whom he had delivered, 
the dead whom he had raised to life, the angels them- 
selves, as well as the saints of the Old Law, would have 
come forward to say to all the people: "This is the 
Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the living God/' But 
such is not his will : he consents to pass for a malefactor, 
in order to expiate our sins of pride and our inordinate 
desire for the esteem of men. As he stands before the 
tribunal of Caiphas, he is a picture of the most profound 
humiliation. He gives us at this moment a noble exam- 
'KkiL ii. 9. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 89 

pie of patience and resignation; although his heart is 
breaking with grief at hearing the blasphemies of the 
infamous men who appear as witnesses against him, yet 
in the fullness of his charity, he thinks only of pitying 
them and praying for them. 

APPLICATION 

We profess to be disciples of Jesus Christ; let us, 
then, imitate him as perfectly as we can. In opposition 
to the conduct of his enemies, let us propose to ourselves 
none but meritorious ends; let us seek only the glory of 
God and the salvation of souls; let us act from motives 
of faith and charity; let us employ only legitimate 
means to attain our ends, remembering that we are not 
allowed to do the slightest evil, even to compass the 
greatest good. 

Let us be on our guard lest through envy or any other 
motive, we examine the actions of others maliciously. 
Let us be persuaded that we would thereby imitate the 
guilty Jews, and bear false witness against our brethren, 
in order to put them to death in our own estimation. 

Let us adore Jesus Christ, who, though holiness itself, 
is the victim of calumny, and opposes thereto only 
silence, resignation, and charity. Let us not be surprised 
if we chance to be the object of detraction ; let us think 
only of bearing it as becomes true disciples of our divine 
Master. 

PEAYEE 

Is there anything more admirable, Jesus, than thy 
silence, whilst thy enemies calumniate thee, say all that 



90 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

is evil of thee, misconstrue thy words, and utter blas- 
phemies that fill thy soul with grief? Thou art as one 
deaf and dumb. And why, Lord, dost thou act so? 
It is to teach me to bear with patience and resignation 
the contradictions, reproaches, malicious remarks, and 
false accusations which attack my reputation. 

Give me, then, my divine Master! thy spirit of 
meekness, that I may imitate thee in these trying cir- 
cumstances, and that I may be truly the disciple of him 
whom I so often invoke in these words: "Jesus, hated, 
calumniated and persecuted, have mercy on us !" 

Eesume, page 389. 

Let us consider how criminal are the enemies of the 
Savior. 

1. They conspire for the death of him who is inno- 
cence itself. 

2. They are moved by the worst passions. 

3. They have recourse to iniquitous measures. 

4. They suborn false witnesses. 

5. Two of these witnesses a'ccuse Jesus of having 
spoken against the temple : an accusation, which though 
false, will ruin him in the estimation of the people. 
What iniquity ! 

— Let us, then, conduct ourselves very differently: 

1. By proposing to ourselves only praiseworthy ends. 

2. By acting only through pure motives. 

3. By employing only legitimate means. 

4. By adoring Jesus Christ, who, though sanctity 
itself, is exposed to calumny, which he refutes only by 
silence, resignation, and charity. 

5. By regarding him as our model, especially when we 
are victims of detraction. -*_ 



SIXTEENTH MEDITATION * 

JESUS IS CONDEMNED AT THE TRIBUNAL 
OF CAIPHAS 

What think you? But they answering, said: He is guilty of 
death. — Matt. xxvi. 66. 

CONSIDEKATION 

The false witnesses have borne testimony against 
Jesus; he has heard their evidence without replying, 
for it is manifestly of no value. Nevertheless, Caiphas, 
desirous of turning it to account, interrogates him con- 
cerning it, but he remains silent. Then, becoming exas- 
perated, and being determined to make him say some- 
thing that might incriminate him, he exclaims: "An- 
swerest thou nothing to the things which these witness 
against thee?" 1 - Vain hope! Jesus answers nothing; 
what necessity was there for refuting testimony that 
was manifestly false, intrinsically valueless, and abso- 
lutely contradictory ? . 

Caiphas and the doctors of the law, vexed to see all 
their diabolical expedients ineffectual, devised new stra- 
tagems to ensnare Jesus. Unhappy men ! they did not 
understand that failure to accomplish a crime is a 
grace, and that if God permits nothing to prosper with 
them, it is because he wishes to open their eyes and 
bring them back to righteousness. But alas ! instead of 
*Matt. xxvi. 62. 

91 



92 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

} T ielcling to the evidence of facts, they again seek means 
of forcing the Savior to break this disconcerting silence. 
Then Caiphas conceives the plan of adjuring him in 
the name of the living God to tell whether he is truly 
the Messiah. He hopes that Jesus will not refuse to 
speak when formally commanded in the name of God 
and by the supreme pontiff himself. 

This project was sacrilegious and supremely iniqui- 
tous, since it was using the holy name of God and the 
pontifical dignity as a nleans for the accomplishment of 
crime; and, in order to succeed, the questioner counted 
on the religious sentiment even of him whom he was 
about to put to death for his want of religion. He 
hoped to make the infinite respect of the Savior for the 
name of God the occasion of his ruin. Could anything 
be conceived more odious or more criminal ? 

Then the high-priest, rising, said to him in a tone of 
authority; "I adjure thee, by the living God, that thou 
tell us if thou be the Christ, the Son of God." 1 The 
summons could not be more solemn, nor could it be 
more perfidious. If Jesus, who says he is the Messiah, 
denies that he is God, he will be convicted of having 
deceived the people; if he answers in the affirmative, 
he will be accused of blasphemy. Therefore, unless he 
answer in an evasive manner, he will certainly furnish 
his executioners with a sword to immolate him. But 
he has no intention of evading the question. He will 
answer directly, because it is by the head of the nation, 
by the council of the ancients, by the whole people to 
whom he was first sent as ambassador, that he is sum- 
moned to declare plainly who he is ; besides, he thinks it 
a _Matt. xxvi. 63. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 93 

a duty to himself, to the Church, and to us, to declare 
openly on this occasion that he is the Messiah, the Son 
of God. 

But first he shows that he is fully aware of the secret 
intentions of Caiphas, who interrogates him not indeed 
to know the truth, but merely to find an opportunity 
of condemning him. Wherefore he says to him 
and his attendants: "If I shall tell you, you will not 
believe me, . . . nor let me go," 1 because I read in 
your hearts that you have resolved, not to admit the 
truth which I am about to reveal, but to combat it, and 
make the affirmation of it a crime. I am going to 
answer, nevertheless, not because of your summons, the 
malice of which I know, but out of reverence for God, 
in whose name you make it. Yes, you have said it, I 
am the Son of God. 

Jewish nation! behold he declares himself the 
Christ sent by God! "How long dost thou hold our 
souls in suspense ?" 2 had been asked of him. The 
moment is now come when that suspense is to cease. 
The Son of Man, whom you have taken prisoner, loaded 
with chains, and seek to put to death, is the Messiah, the 
true Son of God. 

unhappy people ! let not the state in which you see 
him, be to you an occasion of scandal. Listen rather to 
the words which he addresses to Caiphas and the whole 
assembly : "You shall see the Son of man sitting on the 
right hand of the power of God, and coming with the 
clouds of heaven." 3 Thus our divine Savior transports 
the thoughts of all from the unworthy tribunal before 

^uke xxii. 67, 68. 2 John x. 24 

3 Mark xiv. 62. 



94 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

which he stands, to the judgment seat of God, where all 
injustice shall be repaired; he reveals himself as the 
supreme Arbiter who shall one day decide the fate of 
even his judges. 

Jesus has declared that he is the Son of God, and he 
has done so to render homage to truth, to glorify his 
Father, and to edify his Church. He knows that it will 
cost him his life, but he has not hesitated. Let us then 
adore in him the King of martyrs- appearing before 
the first persecutors, entering on the career in which he 
will be followed by millions of the faithful confessing 
in spite of the most rigorous torments and the most 
cruel death, that he is truly the Son of God. 

As soon as Caiphas has heard the reply of Jesus, he 
makes a hypocritical show of indignation; he rends his 
garments, and cries out: "He hath blasphemed; what 
further need have we of witnesses?" 1 And the whole 
assembly decrees that Jesus is deserving of death. 

iniquitous sentence! Jesus is condemned because 
he has said : "I am the son of God." But before pro- 
nouncing against him, have his judges examined whether 
his wisdom is not divine, whether his works are not 
supernatural, whether his power has not been proved 
to be infinitely superior not only to that of men but also 
to that of hell? Have they opened the prophecies to 
study whether the Messiah is not to be in the state to 
which Jesus is reduced? The devils themselves have 
confessed his divinity; 2 and the people, the depositary 
of the promises concerning his coming, accuse him of 
blasphemy when they hear him proclaim that he is the 
Son of God ! 

^att. xxvi. 65. 2 Luke iv, 41, 



OE OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 95 

Caiphas, the chief priests, and the doctors of the law, 
have the Messiah before them, and they refuse to ac- 
knowledge him. But, judgment of God! by that 
criminal obstinacy, they cease to be the true interpreters 
of the law, which was given especially to make the 
Messiah known to men; the high priest, by rending his 
garments, signified his degradation and that of the other 
ministers of the Jewish religion, which was but a figure 
of the Christian faith. "At this moment/' says St. 
Hilary, "the priesthood of Aaron ceases, and that of 
Jesus Christ is established ; the law disappears before the 
Gospel; the veil of the Scriptures, figured by the sacer- 
dotal garments, is rent before the majesty of the 
Christian religion." 

APPLICATION 

Let us by our words, and still more by our deeds, 
courageously confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of 
God, that we believe in him, that we are really Chris- 
tians; and, regardless of the troubles and persecutions 
that we may thereby draw upon ourselves, let us confess 
our faith when the glory of God and the good of our 
neighbor require it. 

Let not the sight of our Savior's humiliation weaken 
our faith; let us bear in mind that he whom we have 
beheld weak, captive, and despised, is now glorious in 
heaven, whence he shall come to judge all mankind. 

Let us be zealous in announcing to those who are in 
our charge, that Jesus is the Son of God, the worthy 
object of all our love, the foundation of all our hope. 

Let us console ourselves for the ingratitude of men, if 



9 V 6 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

we experience it; let it not even surprise us. Although 
Jesus had done good to all those with whom he came 
in contact, yet not one of the great council of the nation 
speaks in his behalf; all the members present in the 
assembly pronounce him deserving of death. Is it fitting 
that we should be treated better than our divine Master ? 

PEAYEK 

I bless thee, Jesus, King of martyrs ! who wast sac- 
rificed by the Jews for having said, "I am the Son of 
God." They refused to acknowledge thee; but we, 
whom thou hast called to be Christians, and even 
religious, and to whom thou hast said those same words 
in the depths of our hearts, have believed them through 
thy grace and mercy. Increase in us, sweet Savior, 
faith in thy divine teachings and hope in thy promises ; 
that, animated by the most ardent charity, we may be 
numbered among thy friends on the day of thy glorious 
coming in the clouds of heaven, when thou shalt exercise 
all justice, and reward in person all those who shall 
have believed that thou art Christ, the Son of the living 
God. 

Besume, page 389. 

Let us consider Jesus before the tribunal of Caiphas. 

1. Though unjustly accused he remains silent, 

2. He thereby disconcerts his enemies. 

3. Then the high-priest adjures him, in the name of 
God, to tell if he is the Christ. 

4. Jesus declares that he is the Son of God, and adds : 
"Hereafter you shall see the Son of man sitting on 

the right hand of the power of God, coming in the clouds 
of heaven." 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 97 

5. On hearing these words, they accuse him of blas- 
phemy, and cry out, "He is guilty of death." 
— iniquitous sentence ! 

1. The Holy of holies is judged worthy of death. 

2. The Messiah, so long desired by men, is rejected. 

3. He is rejected by the very people whom he had 
made the depositary of his promises. 

4. What a misfortune for the Jews to disown him ! 

5. Is not- that misfortune likewise ours? Does our 
conduct show that we acknowledge Jesus to be Son 
of God? 



SEVENTEENTH MEDITATION 

JESUS IS ABUSED AND INSULTED IN THE 
HOUSE OF CAIPHAS 

They did spit in his face, and buffet him, and others struck his 
face with the palms of their hands. — Matt. xxvi. 67. 

CONSIDEEATION 

Caiphas, and the council over which he presides, have 
decreed Jesus worthy of death. After agreeing to assem- 
ble again at dawn, to follow up the affair, they retire to 
take some hours' rest, leaving servants to keep guard 
over the innocent Victim of their envy. These hirelings 
know the dispositions of their masters too well to con- 
tent themselves with guarding Jesus: they propose to 
have some amusement at his expense. Certain of im- 
punity, or rather, counting on the approbation of 
Caiphas, they carry out their intention, and lead Jesus 
into the vestibule, where they make him undergo all 
that the malice of their hearts can suggest, all that inso- 
lence and cruelty together can effect. 

what a sight! The Master of heaven is made a 
pastime for wretches ! He whom the angels adore in 
holy fear, is the butt of low and cruel pleasantry ! Who 
can tell what the Savior endures ? These new Philistines 
torment in a thousand ways the true Samson delivered 
into their hands by the synagogue; they fulfilled what 
had been foretold of the Messiah by the prophet Jere- 

98 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 99 

miah, saying: "He shall give his cheek to him that 
striketh him; he shall be filled with reproaches." * 

They first insult him by words, treat him as a dolt 
and a fool, renew the accusations of the false witnesses, 
and belch forth all sorts of blasphemy and imprecation 
against him. Then they spit in his face, thus accom- 
plishing what he had foretold by Isaias, saying : "I have 
not turned away my face from them that rebuked me 
and spit upon me," 2 and what he had himself prophesied 
to his apostles. 3 "What torture! Can we conceive 
greater contempt, more outrageous insult, or more 
humiliating treatment ? 

adorable face of my Jesus, brightness of eternal 
light, mirror of God's majesty, object of Mary's contem- 
plation, joy and happiness of the angels, I see thee 
defiled with spittle and subjected to the greatest in- 
dignity ! mystery of iniquity indeed on the part 
of men, but of love on the part of Jesus, who offers this 
excess of humiliation for our salvation ! 

The people to whom in his goodness he has delivered 
himself for us, obeying the inspirations of the devil, con- 
tinue to exercise upon him all the cruelties suggested by 
their hatred and envy. Speaking by the prophet Isaias, 
the Son of God had said: "I have given my body to 
the strikers and my cheeks to them that plucked them." 4 
He now suffers the torture which he had foretold. The 
wretches to whom he is abandoned, dare lay sacrilegious 
hands upon him. They strike him rudely, then burst 
into peals of derisive laughter ; they slap and buffet him, 
they pull his hair and his beard. 

'Lament, iii. 30 2 Isai. 1. 6 3 Mark x. 34. 

4 Isai. 1. 6. 



100 MEDITATIONS OJST THE PASSION 

Let us contemplate, with throbbing hearts and tearful 
eyes, the barbarous sport of those cruel men. Let us 
behold each soldier, each, servant, as he torments the 
divine Victim, pays him his tribute of contempt and 
ill usage, and tries to outdo the others in inflicting insult 
and outrage. 

The Christ of God, the eternal priest, is made the butt 
of ruffians! Insult without measure is heaped upon 
him. Never was any creature, however vile, treated with 
so much ignominy as is the Master of the world in this 
dark hour. And yet he is consumed with love for those 
even who outrage him. "He looks upon them," says St. 
Chrysostom, "so mildly and so affectionately that their 
hearts should have been melted." But these wretches 
put a bandage over his eyes, and so guard against yield- 
ing to any feeling of compassion. 

In their impious audacity, they scoff at his character 
of prophet, and show that they consider him an impos- 
tor. After surrounding him, some of them strike him, 
saying: "Prophesy unto us, Christ, who is he that 
struck thee !" 1 Great God, to what abasement is thine 
adorable Son reduced! He from whom nothing is 
hidden, is ordered to guess who struck him! The 
name of Christ is given him only in sacrilegious 
mockery ! 

Although you who insult him cruelly, do not 
believe in him, yet your very insults have borne witness 
to his divinity, since he had foretold them. Did he not 
say by the mouth of David : "I am the reproach of men, 
and the outcast of the people ; all they that saw me have 
laughed me to scorn ?" 2 Did he not say by his servant 
^att. xxvi. .68. 2 Ps. xxi. 7, 8. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 101 

Job : "They have struck me on the cheek ; they are 
filled with my pains ?" * 

You are urged on, it is true, by the hatred of the 
Pharisees and the rage of hell; and, nevertheless, you 
are concurring in the accomplishment of his merciful 
designs. Yes, it is his mercy and his love for us that 
have reduced him to the ignominious state in which we 
contemplate him. If we were really convinced of this, 
would we not love him with our whole heart? Would 
we not be animated with the liveliest and most constant 
gratitude to him ? 

APPLICATION 

Let us love Jesus who has so loved us as even to sacri- 
fice for us his honor and his life. If he endures all 
kinds of opprobrium, it is to expiate our sins, which are 
so many acts of contempt of God or of his adorable per- 
son and his holy doctrine. Let us hate sin, and avoid 
it. Let us bear in mind that sin is an outrage infinitely 
more painful to the divine heart of Jesus than was the 
cruel mockery of the satellites of Caiphas. Let us there- 
fore, deplore our past transgressions ; let us make a firm 
purpose never more to commit them, and let us take the 
necessary means to fulfill our resolutions. 

Let us attach ourselves with our whole soul to our 
generous Eedeemer, remembering that he humbled him- 
self even to annihilation, to deliver us from the ever- 
lasting disgrace which we had merited. 

Let us learn from his example to bear injuries and to 
practise patience, humility, and self-sacrifice. Since we 
'Job xvi. 11. 



102 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

are his disciples, let us imitate him. When at times we 
are discouraged on account of a humiliation or contradic- 
tion, let us compare what we have to suffer with what he 
suffered for us, and then blush for shame at sharing so 
little in the bitter cup which he drained for our sake to 
the very dregs. 

After considering him tilled with reproaches, covered 
with ignominy, and given up to all sorts of torments, 
can we desire to be honored by men ? can we love glory ? 
can we even seek our own ease and the gratification of 
our sensuality ? No, no ! After such consideration we 
should have but one desire, that of making ourselves 
like our divine Master. 

Let us often make reparation for the outrages which 
he suffered during his passion, and especially for those 
which he experienced on account of our sins. Let us as 
far as possible atone for the blasphemies of the Jews 
against him and for those which in our own day are 
uttered by the impious. 

Let us gather as another fruit of this meditation un- 
varying respect for our neighbor, avoiding everything 
that might be uncharitable towards him — for in the 
eyes of faith, our neighbor is Jesus Christ: to insult, 
mock, and despise him, is to insult, mock, and despise, 
our divine Savior himself. 

PKAYER 

Jesus ! equally adorable among the Jews, who insult 
and abuse thee, and in heaven, where the angels pros- 
trate themselves in thy presence, we bless thee for thy 
patience in suffering, and for the love which made thee 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 103 

endure so much contempt, in order to merit for us the 
grace to adore thee one day in glory. 

Vouchsafe, my Jesus! to hear my prayer. Since 
thou turnest not away thy face from an ungrateful peo- 
ple who dishonor thee, turn it not away from a sinner 
who also has often outraged thee, but who at this 
moment has.no other desire than that of venerating thee 
as profoundly as do the angels in heaven, and who now 
urgently implores thy grace ! 

Eesume, page 390. 

The chief priests, after having judged Christ worthy 
of death, retired, leaving the adorable Victim to the 
mercy of the soldiers and servants. God ! what a 
scene ! 

1. The menials utter insulting words. 

2. They spit in his face. 

3. They strike him with their fists. 

4. They pull his beard, they drag him ignominiously. 

5. They turn his prophetic character into derision. 
The servants bandage his eyes ; then, huff eting him, they 
say : "Prophesy unto us, Christ ; who is he that struck 
thee ?" And Jesus endures these outrages ! 

— It is because he wants, 

1. To expiate our sins, which are truly a contempt of 
God. 

2. To make us hate and avoid them. 

3. To save us from being one day exposed to the con- 
tempt and insults of the devil. 

4. To teach us to suffer injuries. 

5. To teach us patience, humility, and abnegation. 



EIGHTEENTH MEDITATION 
ST. PETER'S DENIAL 

Even this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny 
me thrice. — Mark xiv. 30. 

CONSIDERATION 

Let us consider with terror .the frightful fall of the 
prince of the apostles, who, as Jesus had foretold, three 
times denies his divine Master. After supper, when 
instituting the adorable sacrament of his body, our 
divine Savior said to him : "Simon, Simon, behold, 
Satan hath desired to have you that he may sift you 
as wheat; but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith 
fail not : and thou being once converted, confirm thy 
brethren." 1 "Simon Peter saith to him: 'Lord, whither 
goest thou V Jesus answered : 'Whither I go thou canst 
not follow me; but thou shalt follow me afterwards/ 
Peter saith to him: 'Why cannot I follow thee now? I 
will lay down my life for thee/ Jesus answered him; 
'Wilt thou lay down thy life for me? Amen, amen, 
I say to thee, the cock shall not crow till thou deny 
me thrice/ " 2 

Addressing all the apostles, he said: "All you shall 
be scandalized in me this night, for it is written, 'I 
will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall 
be dispersed/ . . . 'Though all men shall be scan- 

*Luke xxii. 31, 32. 2 John xiii. 36-38. 

104 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 105 

dalized in thee/ Peter answered, 'I will never be scan- 
dalized/ "* Jesus repeats his prediction; but Peter 
replies again: "Lord I am ready to go with thee both 
into prison and to death." 2 Insisting still more, he 
says : "Though I should die with thee, I will not deny 
thee." 3 

In the Garden of Olives, Jesus had recommended his 
apostles, and particularly St. Peter, to watch and pray 
that they might not enter into temptation, reminding 
them that the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. 
The presumptuous apostle, who had protested his 
fidelity with so much energy, refuses to believe that he 
can ever disown his divine Master; and, therefore, he 
neglects to seek in prayer the necessary strength to be 
faithful. God abandons him to his apparent courage, 
which is really weakness: he leaves him to his own re- 
sources which inevitably fail him in the moment of 
trial; for, without the assistance of grace, man has 
only the power of ruining himself. 

Jesus is soon apprehended by his enemies. Peter 
at first takes up his defence and strikes one of the high- 
priest's followers, then he flees with the other apostles. 
It is true, he soon returns; but how unlike his former 
self he is ! "Generous as he had been in promises," 
says St. Augustine, "just so timid does he show him- 
self now that danger has come;" he follows Jesus afar 
off, as the Gospel remarks. It is, therefore, with an 
irresolute and fear-stricken heart that he reaches the 
house of Caiphas. He goes in without suspecting the 
danger that he is to encounter; he takes no precaution 

x Matt. xxvi. 31, 33. 2 Luke xxii. 33. 

3 Matt. xxvi. 35. 



106 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

against it; but sitting down with the servants and the 
officers near the fire that has been made, he warms 
himself while awaiting the issue of the trial. 

A maid-servant looks at him attentively, and thinks 
that she recognizes him. "Art not thou also one of 
this man's disciples?" 1 she asks. "Thou also wast with 
Jesus of Nazareth." 2 These words confound him; his 
courage forsakes him. "Woman," he replies, speaking 
loud enough to be heard by all, "I know him not." 3 
"I neither know nor understand what thou sayest." 4 

weakness, cowardice, and falsehood! Of what 
is man not capable when abandoned to himself ! . . . 
Jesus, how this denial must have pierced thy tender 
heart! Thou hadst given Peter so many marks of 
special affection ! Thou hadst distinguished him 
amongst all thy disciples, thou hadst chosen him for 
the head of thy Church; and thou seest him, alas! 
succumb to the first trial, deny thee and apostatize at 
the voice of a maid-servant. Who can tell the great- 
ness of thy sufferings and the ardor of thy desire for 
the immediate flight of thy apostle from this occasion 
of sin! 

But Peter still remains in the vestibule ; alas ! a 
moment after, he denies his Master a second time 
and confirms his words with an oath; then, a little 
later, for the third time, and with an imprecation he 
swears that he knows not the man. 

how quickly we go down into the depths of evil! 
Peter, who is now perjured, was at first only presump- 
tuous, and negligent in praying. Then he showed 

iJohn xviii. 17. 2 Mark xiv. 67. 

3 Luke xxii. 57. 4 Mark xiv. 68. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 107 

himself cowardly in following Jesus; then rash in 
thrusting himself into the occasion of sin. When the 
moment of trial has come, he feels his vaunted courage 
ebbing, and he begins to be ashamed of his Master; 
he even declares that he does not know him, nay, that 
he never knew him. Then, not content with mere 
denial, he has recourse to swearing; in order to deceive 
more effectually, he takes care not to mention the name 
of him whom he denies: "I know not this man of 
whom you speak." 1 

Peter, what sayest thou? thou knowest not the 
man ? And he is thy Eedeemer, thy Savior, thy God ! 
Thou knowest not the man? Thou hast, then, for- 
gotten thine own words; thou dost no longer remember 
the testimony which thou didst bear him, saying, in 
the name of all the disciples: "Thou art Christ, the 
Son of the living God; 2 . . . thou hast the words of 
eternal life!" 3 

Thou knowest not the man? But it was he that 
made thee walk on the waters, that held out his hand 
to save thee from being engulfed in the waves; that 
made thee take that miraculous draught of fish which 
filled with awe both thyself and those who were with 
thee. It was he that at thy request cured thy mother- 
in-law; that appeared to thee radiant with glory on 
Thabor when the Eternal Father said to thee, "This 
is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased !" 4 This 
is the divine Master that has loved thee so much ! 
Why should he have to surfer this outrage from 
thee? 

mark xiv. 71. 2 Matt. xvi. 16. 

3 John vi. 69. 4 Matt, xvii. 5. 



108 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

Let us not be content with deploring the fall of 
the prince of the apostles; let us draw a useful lesson 
therefrom. And first, let us be convinced that of our- 
selves we are nothing but weakness, and that what 
happened to St. Peter may more easily befall us. Let 
us, therefore, guard against presumption; let us fear 
for ourselves : if the just fall, is it not folly for sinners 
to rely on themselves? 

Peter fell because he neglected to watch and pray : let 
us learn from this what power the temptations of the 
devil have over the tepid religious who neglects prayer 
and vigilance. 

Peter fell because he kept company with the wicked; 
let us therefore shun the world, and avoid those persons 
who would separate us from God ; let us dwell in retire- 
ment, and even detach ourselves, as far as possible, from 
those of our Brothers who may not be regular. Human 
respect is a terrible weapon which every day slays thou- 
sands. 

The head of the Church fell because he imprudently 
went into the occasion of sin: what precautions 
should not be ours who are frail reeds, shaken by the 
first breath of temptation! 

Let us, then, withdraw promptly from all that might 
tend to our spiritual ruin, or that might even lessen 
our moral strength. Let us be convinced that he who 
exposes himself to danger, shall perish therein; for on 
such occasions his mind is disturbed, his heart ener- 
vated, while the temptation grows stronger and stronger, 
until at last he gives way. Alas ! how many times has 
not this been our experience ! 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 109 

PEAYEE 

my God; I know that of himself man has neither 
light to know the truth, nor strength to practise vir- 
tue; that if he is abandoned to his own resources, he is 
sure to perish. Therefore I have recourse to thee, and 
I beseech thee not to leave me to myself. In thy pres- 
ence I deplore all the error of my ways, and I beg of 
thee, through the intercession of the prince of the 
apostles, the two graces which thou didst bestow on 
him — that of offending thee no more, and that of 
bewailing my sins until mine eyes shall be closed to the 
light of time and open to that of eternity. 

Eesume, page 390. 

Let us meditate on St. Peter's fall: 

1. Jesus had foretold it to him. 

2. He had exhorted him to watch and pray. 

3. The moment of trial comes. Peter follows his 
divine Master, but only at a distance. 

4. He enters into the house of the high-priest, where 
he imprudently joins a group of officers and servants. 

5. Very soon, alas ! he thrice denies that divine Mas- 
ter to whom he had said: "Thou art Christ, the Son 
of the living God." 

What grief he causes the Heart of Jesus ! 
Let us learn from the misfortune of the prince of 
the apostles : 

1. To distrust ourselves. 

2. To humble ourselves profoundly at the thought 
of our weakness. 

3. To watch and pray. 

4. To heed the first reproaches of our conscience. 

5. To shun resolutely every occasion of sin. 



NINETEENTH MEDITATION 
CONVERSION AND PENANCE OF ST. PETER 

Immediately, . . . the cock crew. And the Lord, turning, 
looked on Peter. . . . And Peter went out and wept bitterly. 
—Luke xxii. 60-62. 

CONSIDEBATION 

Let us consider with fear and trembling into what 
an abyss the prince of the apostles fell. He who had 
been admitted to the contemplation of the greatest 
mysteries, honored with the most intimate confidence, 
and loved with the most tender affection by Jesus, is now 
ashamed to own him as his Master. After having, by 
a revelation from heaven, clearly recognized and con- 
fessed him to be Christ, the Son of the living God, now 
he denies him as though his adorable Savior had been 
the vilest of men ! what scandal for the other dis- 
ciples ! What a triumph for the Jews ! Alas ! who 
would have thought such faithlessness possible? But 
let us consider with the liveliest emotions the infinite 
goodness of Jesus towards him. The abyss of Peter's 
sin has indeed called on the abyss of divine mercy. 

The crowing of the cock is heard, but it has no 
effect on St. Peter. It is heard again, after his third 
denial, and then the apostle remembers what had been 
foretold him, but he is not yet converted : that requires 
a special and very powerful grace, which Jesus, in his 

110 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 111 

mercy, grants him. "The Lord turning, looked on 
Peter." 1 

In these words is contained the whole history of the 
mercy of God; that look of kindness which they recall, 
is the light which shows Peter the precipice down which 
he has fallen; it is the hand of the charitable guide 
who leads him back to the way from which he had 
wandered. That look of Jesus is a look not of disdain,, 
but of love and compassion. 

Peter ! Jesus loves thee still, although thou hast 
denied him, and hast outraged him more grievously 
than did Caiphas and his officers. He loves thee and 
therefore turns to thee with that look which penetrates 
into the very hearts of men and is for thee the grace to 
which thou wilt owe thy salvation. 

This look changes the sinful Peter into Peter repent- 
ant; it is a mirror wherein he perceives his shameful 
condition of defilement by sin. By that look, Jesus 
says to him : "And thou, too, Simon, son of John, thou 
deniest and insultest me!" By that look, he shows 
him his divine heart, broken with sorrow and pierced 
with many swords, amongst which Peter recognizes 
that wherewith he himself has wounded him. 

He then comprehends the enormity of his crime; 
but he also realizes that his divine Savior loves him 
still and calls him to his service. He is humbled by 
his sin and yet sustained by grace ; desolate, yet con- 
fident; ashamed, yet eager to return to him whom he 
has had the misfortune to offend: dead through pride 
and presumption, he is raised to life again by the 
compassionate look of his Savior. 
*Luke xxii. 61, 



112 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

Jesus looked on Peter, "and Peter went out, and 
wept bitterly." 1 Such are the effects of grace on sin- 
ners who, like St. Peter, try to correspond with it, 
who bewail their faults, and withdraw quickly from 
dangerous occasions. Peter hastens to flee from the 
house which has been so fatal to him, waiting till it 
please God to furnish him with the means of repairing 
later, the scandal that he has given. He departs quickly 
from the occasion of sin, thus performing an act of 
eminent wisdom, an act with which every sincere con- 
version ought to begin. 

But Peter does not stop there: giving up his heart 
to sorrow for his faults, he sheds torrents of tears. 
flow in abundance, tears of that illustrious penitent! 
you are the saving water which purifies him and re- 
stores to his soul its former beauty; it is through you 
that he is entitled to God's mercy and the esteem of 
men. 

St. Peter's tears call forth tears of compassion from 
thee, Jesus ! and thy compassion is a sign that thou 
hast forgotten his fault, pardoned his crime, re-instated 
him in his privileges and given him a place in thy 
generous and loving heart. Thou rejectest not a con- 
trite heart which returns to thee, especially when it 
bears such marks of conversion as those on which we 
are meditating. 

St. Peter's conversion is prompt: at the first look 
of Jesus, he enters into himself, deplores his misfor- 
tune, and at once repents of his crime. His conversion 
is prudent: he hastens from the occasion of sin, from 
the company of those who have led him into evil. His 
'Luke xxii. 62. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 113 

conversion is sincere; tears flow from his eyes, but they 
have their source in sorrow of heart. He says nothing, 
because great grief is always silent; but his tears are 
more eloquent than words, and are as efficacious as a 
new baptism would be. His sorrow is lasting: ever- 
more penetrated with confusion, he ceases not to bewail 
his sin. St. Clement attests that he rose every 
morning at cock-crow to weep for his infidelity and 
to ask pardon of Jesus Christ, a mortification that he 
continued for the rest of his life. His sorrow was so 
great and so persevering, that, according to Mcephorus, 
his tears furrowed his cheeks. 

His conversion is fervent: — "He is moved to tears," 
says St. Chrysostom, "not through fear of the punish- 
ment which he has deserved, but through regret for 
having offended his God, for having denied his ador- 
able Master, for whom he has so lively an affection." 
His heart is filled with sorrow and love. Sorrow in- 
spires him with contrition for his sin, and makes him 
endure a martyrdom more painful, perhaps, than the 
martyrdom of blood which he will one day suffer; love 
excites confidence, obtains for him the assistance of 
grace, and makes him find ineffable consolation even in 
his tears. 

APPLICATION 

We, like St. Peter, have had the misfortune of of- 
fending Jesus, and we, too, have met the Savior's look 
of love and pity. But have we, like the prince of the 
apostles, corresponded to the favor bestowed upon us? 
Have we hastened to leave the occasions of sin? Have 



114 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

we kept our faults before our eyes, to be the subject of 
our confusion? Have we wept over them sincerely and 
constantly? Have we wept, and do we still weep, for 
them from a motive of love ? Are our tears abundant ? 
St. Peter fell but once, and he wept over his misfor- 
tune all his lifetime: can we who have many times 
fallen so grievously, cease to mourn? "Come, let us 
weep before the Lord that made us," * let us weep 
always, because it will never cease to be true that we 
have offended our Father and Friend. 

how the tears of St. Peter, his profound sorrow, 
his sincere conversion, his lasting repentance, condemn 
our superficial sorrow, our imperfect conversion, our 
defective penance, our momentary sighs and tears ! 

Let us, then, enter seriously into ourselves, and 
excite ourselves to true contrition; let us have recourse 
to him whom we have offended. Our sins are our own 
work; but repentance comes from grace if we co- 
operate therewith. Let us ask with fervor for that 
grace which will lead us back to God through the 
way of sorrow, after we have strayed from him into 
the way of unfaithfulness. 

PRAYER 

Behold me in thy presence, Jesus ! confused and 
humbled at the sight of my sins. I know that thou 
hast looked upon me with that saving look wherewith 
thou didst convert St. Peter; thou hast reproached me 
with my wanderings, and hast called me back to thee 
by repentance. But how have I corresponded to that 
^s. xciv. 6. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 115 

grace? After imitating thy apostle in his sin, have 
I imitated him in his repentance? Has my conversion 
the same marks as his? Is it sincere, efficacious, and 
persevering? Is it inspired by love rather than by 
fear ? I know not, my God ! but thou who knowest all 
things dost know. 

If at this. moment I am not wholly thine, if sin yet 
dwells within me, look on me again, I beseech thee, with 
love and pity; and may that look be to my heart the 
source of the most abundant graces, and to my eyes 
an inexhaustible fountain of tears. Through the merits 
of thy precious blood, my tears shall make thee not only 
forget my iniquities but also re-instate me in thy 
friendship and in the privileges of thy children. 

Besume, page 391. 

Into what an abyss the prince of the apostles fell 
when he thrice denied his divine Master ! 

1. But Jesus looks upon him. 

2. Immediately St. Peter acknowledges his fault. 

3. He repents, he begins to weep for his sin. 

4. He goes quickly out of the house of Caiphas. 

5. He does penance the rest of his days. 

— We too have sinned, and doubtless more grievously 
than Saint Peter; let our conversion, then, like his, be 

1. Prompt, beginning this very moment. 

2. Sincere, enabling us to quit sin and its occasions. 

3. Persevering, leading us to attach ourselves to God 
forever. 

4. Fervent, disposing us to embrace with courage the 
practice of virtue. 

5. Pure, prompted by worthy motives. 



TWENTIETH MEDITATION 
JESUS SHUT UP IN A DUNGEON 

They humbled his feet in fetters; the iron pierced his soul. 
— Ps. civ. 18. 

CONSIDEKATION 

St. Bonaventure and several other Fathers of the 
Church, assert that the soldiers and the servants of 
the high-priest, tired at last of tormenting Jesus, and 
wishing to take some rest, agreed to bind him hand 
and foot, and to shut him up in a dark and narrow 
dungeon near the high-priest's hall of audience. 

Let us, then, contemplate our beloved Savior suffer- 
ing this new indignity, and, as far as possible, let us 
fathom the ocean of grief in which his soul is plunged. 
Let us behold him in the hands of the ruffians who 
have cruelly mocked him, who have heaped upon him 
all the outrages that malice could suggest, and who 
have wreaked their infernal fury upon his adorable 
person. For a moment they pause, but they immediately 
return to him: they bind him tightly, they drag him 
to the prison, the door of which they open; they thrust 
him violently into that hideous den, which is so low and 
so narrow that in it he can neither stand erect nor lie 
down. 

There it is that our adorable Savior, exhausted with 

116 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 117 

fatigue, and overwhelmed with grief, passes the rest 
of that night, waiting for the great council to confirm 
the sentence already pronounced, and to deliver him 
into the hands of the governor. 

Jesus, my dear Lord, why do thy enemies add this 
new outrage? The most Just of men is imprisoned 
like a crimirial; the Holy of holies, the Master of the 
world is confined within the walls of a narrow dun- 
geon; space is measured out to him who has created 
worlds, and who has immensity for an attribute ! 
What a mystery of iniquity! what a subversion of all 
order ! 

Behold, Christian souls, the state of your adorable 
Master: his body is bruised, his face is covered with 
spittle, his forehead is bedewed with a cold sweat. He 
is weak, exhausted, almost dying. He is in extreme 
need of charitable assistance, but no one gives it. He 
is a prisoner, and no one visits him. His heart is sad 
and desolate, and no word consoles him, no hand dries 
his tears. He is chained in a dark cell, where he can- 
not even lie on the ground. This is the bed of rest 
which the synagogue has prepared for him ! Ah ! 
could he, the King who came to her full of goodness 
and meekness, who, as she herself has acknowledged 
and proclaimed on many occasions, is really her sover- 
eign Lord, would he have expected to be treated thus by 
the daughter of Sion ! criminal injustice ! He has 
come to his kingdom, and his own subjects have given 
him a prison for his palace; they are even waiting for 
an opportunity to enthrone him on an ignominious 
cross ! 

But, dearest Lord! art thou not the all-powerful 



118 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

God? Why, then, dost thou allow thyself to be thrust 
into that narrow dungeon? Why dost thou, who art 
holiness itself, suffer thyself to be treated as a male- 
factor? At this very moment men and beasts are 
resting after the labors of the day, and repairing their 
strength by sleep — why dost thou not rest? why dost 
thou continue to suffer? 

I understand now, my dear Savior. Through love 
for us, thou art now negociating our interests with thy 
Father; thou art expiating the sins that we have com- 
mitted through an abuse of our liberty; thou art satis- 
fying for those crimes for which we deserve to be 
bound, hand and foot, and cast into that eternal prison, 
where there are only weeping and gnashing of teeth, 
devouring flames and cries of despair. Thou art 
meriting for the martyrs and the confessors of the 
faith the grace to bear patiently the pains and the 
weariness of prison, and to remain faithful to thy holy 
law unto death; thou showest thyself to be their chief 
and model, and thou givest them the most powerful 
motives for consolation. Their imprisonment shall 
appear mild and their chains light, when they remem- 
ber that thou hast deigned to be imprisoned and loaded 
with irons for their sakes. 

Thou also givest us an example of the greatest resig- 
nation and the most generous f orgetf ulness of injuries ; 
thou dost in the seclusion of thy prison what thou shalt 
soon do publicly on the cross, thou prayest even for 
those who persecute thee so cruelly and so maliciously, 
and already thou sayest: "Father, forgive them, for 
they know not what they do." 1 

1 Luke xxiii. 34. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 119 



APPLICATION 

After contemplating our divine Master in such pain 
and suffering, can we henceforth complain of wanting 
anything, of being ill lodged or ill provided for? If 
every evening at our bedside we called to mind the 
resting place which the Jews gave Jesus, would not 
we, wretched sinners as we are, be ashamed at seeing 
ourselves infinitely better treated than he was ? Would 
not the thought that he was imprisoned for our sakes, 
make it easy for us to bear the contradictions, injuries, 
and persecutions, of which we may be the object? 

The God of all might and of all holiness, in order 
to deliver us from everlasting imprisonment, consents 
to be chained and cast into a loathsome dungeon; and 
we, who call him our Master — we would fain suffer 
nothing, we would murmur at the least trial ! Oh ! 
how unworthy we are of that name of Christian, which 
it is an honor for us to bear ! 

Jesus dwells in our hearts, especially when we have 
the happiness of receiving holy Communion; but is he 
not there as in a prison, hindered by our indifference, 
our self-love, and our tepidity, from acting freely to 
effect our sanctiflcation, and to inspire us with gen- 
erosity in his service? Is not his grace, his word, 
imprisoned within us, and reduced to impotence by 
our perverse or irresolute will? 

Jesus was cast into prison, and while there, he was 
either forgotten or insulted by the world; but does 
not the same thing happen even now? Behold him in 
the tabernacle, bound by indissoluble chains of love. 



120 MEDITATIONS OX THE PASSIOK 

and outwardly reduced to the most absolute impotence- 
There in the august Sacrament which he instituted on 
the eve of his death, he is, alas ! forgotten by the greater 
number of men, and even outraged by many. What a 
subject of sorrow for all loyal hearts! what a motive 
for prostrating ourselves before him to make him 
honorable reparation ! 

PRAYER 

Permit us to cast ourselves at thy feet, august Pris- 
oner ! who, in thy infinite love, hast shut thyself up in 
our tabernacles ; yes, permit us to offer thee the homage 
of our hearts. The world ignores or even insults thee, 
in the sacrament of thy love; but we, thy children and 
privileged disciples, bless thee and pray thee to accept, 
in reparation for their indifference, our most tender 
affection and our protestations of fidelity. Help us, 
Lord ! to give thee love for love, and, by conduct worthy 
of our vocation, to make thee forget all that thou hast 
suffered from our sin, and especially this torment of 
thy imprisonment, which thou didst endure on account 
of our abuse of liberty. 

Jesus, who for us hast satisfied the justice of thy 
Father, be thou ever blessed for making thyself a slave 
to procure for us the liberty of thy children, and grant 
that we may not lose it by sin. 

Mary! by thy anguish during that night which 
Jesus spent in a dungeon, we conjure thee to obtain 
for us the grace of never more offending thy divine 
Son, whom we desire to praise, love, bless, and glorify 
for ever! 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 121 

Kesume, page 391. 

St. Bonaventure and several other Fathers assure us 
that the servants of the high-priest, when tired of tor- 
menting Jesus, shut him up in a small dungeon, near 
the audience chamber. 

Jesus is in prison. 

1. What a crime! 

2. What a disorder ! 

3. What humiliation for our divine Master ! 

4. What inexpressible sufferings he endured in that 
ignominious den ! 

5. He remains there till daybreak. 

— Let us reflect that he chooses to suffer this pain: 

1. To expiate our sins, by which we abuse our liberty. 

2. To deliver us from eternal imprisonment, the just 
punishment of our sins. 

3. To merit for the martyrs and confessors of the 
faith the grace to brave, for religion, the sufferings of 
prison and exile. 

4. To teach us patience and mortification. 

5. To testify his love to us, for it was love that made 
him captive, as it is still his love which holds him 
prisoner in the Blessed Sacrament. 



TWENTY-FIRST MEDITATION 
JESUS IS BROUGHT BEFORE PILATE 

They brought him bound, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate, 
the governor. — Matt, xxvii. 2. 

CONSIDERATION 

The last night of Jesus on earth in his passable state is 
ended — that memorable night on which he instituted the 
Sacrament of his love, and gave to men the most salu- 
tary teachings; that sorrowful night when the powers of 
darkness being loosed against him treated him with the 
most revolting cruelty. 

The day dawns, the day of the greatest sufferings and 
of the death of the Man-God. All the torments which he 
has hitherto suffered are not only to be renewed in the 
most humiliating manner but to be multiplied in num- 
ber and intensity. Jews and Gentiles, priests and mag- 
istrates, all are to concur in aggravating his sufferings. 

The chief priests being unable, of themselves, to 
execute the sentence of death which they had passed on 
Jesus, hasten in the morning to assemble at the house 
of Caiphas, to secure its confirmation by Pontius Pilate. 
These unhappy men, understanding perfectly that the 
charge brought by the witnesses whom they had suborned, 
would not produce the desired effect on the governors 
mind, agreed to bring Jesus before him as a seditious 
character, an enemy of Caesar, an aspirant for royalty, 

122 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 123 

seeking to form a party for himself among the people. 

base perfidy of the chiefs of the synagogue! To 
incriminate Jesus in the eyes of his fellow-citizens, they 
charge him with religious misdemeanors; they falsely 
accuse him of speaking ill of the law and the Temple; 
and to have him condemned to death by Pilate, they pro- 
pose to accuse him of being a seditious person and a dis- 
turber of public order, of seeking to be made king, and, 
finally of forbidding the payment of tribute to Caesar! 
Thus it is that they change the ground of their calum- 
nies at will. 

They hope to move the governor not only to confirm 
the decree already pronounced but even to give a new 
sentence of death. This by emanating from Eoman 
authority alone would secure them against odium, and 
by condemning Jesus to crucifixion, would deprive him 
of all honor and esteem in the eyes of the people. 

Such are the motives which animate the Jews — crimi- 
nal, odious, iniquitous motives, revealing souls wholly 
under the influence of the spirit of evil. But let us turn 
our minds from these motives to those which prompted 
our divine Savior's acts. He also has reasons for being 
brought before Pilate's tribunal. Savior of all men, he 
wills that Jews and Gentiles concur in immolating him ; 
in his infinite love he desires to suffer outrages 
from all nations, and to die the kind of death that he 
announced when he said, "They .... shall deliver him 
to the Gentiles. ... to be crucified. 1 . . . And I, if I 
be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to my- 
self/' 2 Thus he makes the cruelty and the malice of the 
Jews serve the execution of his designs. 

J Matt. xx. 19. 2 John xii. 32. 



124 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

Let us then, contemplate, our dear Kedeemer, led once 
more through the streets of Jerusalem, tightly bound, 
surrounded with armed men, preceded by the chief 
priests and the doctors of the law and followed by a mob, 
who look upon him as a blasphemer, an enemy of their 
nation and their temple. Calumny has turned every 
heart from him : hence his enemies no longer fear to take 
him in the open day, being assured that, now that he 
has become odious to the people, no popular sympathy 
will be manifested in his behalf. 

how humiliating and shameful is this journey! He 
is dragged with a cord around his neck along the streets 
of Jerusalem, every stone of which had witnessed his 
miracles. The people who had so often greeted him with 
acclamation, and who, a few days before, sang his praises, 
now outrage him and clamor for his death; those who 
are near him insult him and curse him to render him 
more contemptible in the eyes of others. As the crowd 
increases, it adds fuel to its fury against him and it mul- 
tiplies all kinds of outrage of his person. 

Behold, Christian souls, the state to which your Savior 
is reduced! He is truly the "man of sorrows," 1 "the 
outcast of the people," 2 the ohject of their derision; he is 
truly the divine Lamb, which, though abandoned to the 
fury of wolves, yet remains ever meek and gentle. Bear 
him company, then, in this ignominious journey, and by 
your respectful homage, by your sincere adoration, try to 
make amends for the insults and outrages to which he is 
subject, and which, indeed, he suffers only for your 
sakes, and because he wills to suffer them. Do not be 
content with contemplating his trials, his sufferings, and 
Msai. liii. 3. 2 Ps. xxi. 7, 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 125 

his exterior humiliations; but reflect that it is for you 
that he has been reduced to this state. Enter, then, into 
his heart; see not only his anguish and dejection but also 
the resignation with which he supports his sufferings, 
and the charity which he entertains for his enemies. 
They all curse him, as they drag him before the gov- 
ernor's tribunal; but his only answer is to offer up his 
sufferings to his Father for them, and pray him to 
forgive them. 

APPLICATION 

Let us excite in our hearts lively sentiments of com- 
passion, while considering what Jesus suffers for us. 
Can we remain cold, unmoved and insensible, at the sight 
of so many sorrows? Can the sight of our beloved 
Savior, buffeted, despised, and rejected by all his people, 
fail to touch our souls to the quick ? Why, then, should 
we show so little love for our divine Eedeemer ? Let us 
make him honorable amends for all that he suffered in 
the streets of Jerusalem; let us try to glorify him now 
as much as he was then despised. 

Let us adore the terrible judgments of God, which 
are executed on their nation by the Jews themselves. 
The divine Word has come to them, full of grace and 
truth; he has come to be their life, their salvation, and 
their glory; and they contemptuously reject him and give 
him up to idolaters, without suspecting that their act is 
suicidal since it surrenders to a foreign people the right 
to the fulfillment of the promises made to Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob. 

Let the thought of Jesus dragged through Jerusalem, 



126 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

occupy our minds when we pass through the streets of 
the city where we are employed, and keep us modest. 
Let us willingly bear contempt and insults. What are 
these if compared with the affronts and the ill treatment 
which Jesus, our head and model, endured for us? 
Would not our shrinking from them prove that we were 
ashamed to resemble him ? and that we refused to be his 
disciples ? 

Let the thought of Jesus humbled and annihilated, 
lead us to the practice of humility. Alas ! we are always 
afraid of being despised and condemned by men. But 
is this the feeling that should animate us? As Chris- 
tians we should fear nothing but that we may not be 
found conformable to Jesus; and we ought to esteem 
nothing more than what may help us to become like our 
divine Model. 

PEAYEE 

Jesus ! whom I contemplate dragged ignominiously 
through the streets of Jerusalem, grant me the grace to 
enter into the spirit of this mystery, which is one of love 
on thy part and of iniquity on that of thine enemies. 
Grant that, understanding how much thou hast loved us, 
I may love thee, in return, with all my heart and with all 
my strength ; and that, comprehending the heinous con- 
duct of the Jews, I may experience a horror of envy, 
hatred, and all the evil passions which animated them, 
and which alas ! still live in me. 

1 accept, in union with thee, my Jesus! all the 
humiliations and all the contempt to which I may be 
subjected : happy if, imitating thee in thy humility and 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 127 

thy resignation, I may at the moment of death, escape 
being dragged by devils to the foot of thy tribunal. 
Grant, I beseech thee by all thou hast suffered, that in 
that hour I may be conducted to thee by my holy angel 
guardian, who will ask and obtain for me a merciful 
sentence. 

Resume, page 392. 

This night of sorrow and humiliation is succeeded by 
the day of the Savior's greatest torments and his death. 

1. In the morning the chief priests assemble. 

2. Through hatred for Jesus, they decide on sending 
him to Pilate to be condemned. 

3. And Jesus is resigned to this new indignity: he is 
the victim of both Gentiles and Jews. 

4. He leaves the house of Caiphas. 

5. He again traverses the streets of Jerusalem. 

— Let us contemplate him ignominiously bound, fol- 
lowed by an insolent rabble, outraged and insulted. 

1. Let us compassionate his sufferings. 

2. Let us make honorable amends for them. 

3. Let us adore the judgments of God which the Jews 
execute themselves by sending the Word, their only 
hope, to the Gentiles. 

4. Let us, like Jesus, observe modesty of the eyes in 
the streets. 

5. Let us humbly accept contempt and insult. 



TWENTY-SECOND MEDITATION 
DESPAIR OF JUDAS 

I have sinned in betraying innocent blood. — Matt, xxvii. 4. 

CONSIDEKATION 

It would seem from the Gospel that Judas had not 
calculated all the consequences of his crime. Perhaps 
he imagined that Jesus would defend himself before his 
judges, or that, by some special exercise of power, he 
would escape from the hands of his enemies and regain 
his liberty, whilst he himself should have none the less 
the price of his treason. But the traitor cannot remain 
under that delusion, now that he sees him condemned 
by the council of the nation and brought before Pilate's 
tribunal. 

what torments he endures ! They are, for him, 
the beginning of hell. The gloom of sadness darkens his 
brow, his look is restless and wandering, his step hurried. 
A prey to remorse, he acts as if he bore a consuming 
fire within him; he wanders hither and thither without 
finding rest. 

A new Cain, he, too, hears the terrible words : "What 
hast thou done with thy brother? Judas, what hast 
thou done with Jesus? The blood of the new Abel 
ascends to heaven, and cries to me for vengance." 
More and more agitated, the wretch replies as Cain had 
done before : " 'My iniquity is greater than that I may 

128 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 129 

deserve pardon/ 1 I have betrayed innocent blood, all is 
lost;" — and he thinks he hears distinctly the sentence 
pronounced against the first fratricide, "Cursed shalt 
thou be." 2 Then his agitation is redoubled; it seems to 
him that he is branded on the forehead with the mark 
of Cain; he suffers unspeakable tortures. 

sad example of the deceptions experienced by the 
wicked! Judas had doubtless promised himself great 
advantages as the result of his treason; he hoped that 
with the thirty pieces for which he delivered up Jesus, he 
would procure some enjoyment. Alas ! scarcely does he 
acquire them when he feels pain upon pain, and they ap- 
pear to him to be crushing him with their weight, and to 
burn like coals of fire. 

Let us behold him rising in haste, taking the treasure 
that he had so coveted, and carrying it to the temple. 
There he offers it to the chief priests and tells them : "I 
have sinned in betraying innocent blood, — take back the 
price of my treason." Vain step ; those wretches, more 
audacious than he, spurn him with contempt : "What is 
that to us ? look thou to it," 3 they reply ; then they turn 
away and refuse even to listen to him. At these words, 
Judas feels the torments of his soul increase; he sees 
more clearly all the malice of his crime. The disdain 
with which he is treated by his accomplices, also makes 
him understand that he has become forever odious to the 
whole world. He knows that God has cursed him; he 
reads in every eye contempt and horror ; it seems to him 
that the disciples and all his acquaintances reproach him 
with his infamous deed, that men and angels flee from 

^en. iv. 13. 2 Ibid. iv. 11. 

3 Matt. xxvii. 4. 



130 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

his presence, giving him the name of traitor. "It is all 
over," he says to himself, pasting down on the flags of 
the temple the thirty pieces he 'had received ; "I shall 
find rest no more; lost to honor, I shall meet no one 
who has any esteem or even pity for me." 

Thou art mistaken, Judas! there is One whose 
goodness is greater than thy malice; there is one 
Heart that still pities thee, one Heart that loves thee. 
Come then, and prostrate thyself before thy divine 
Master ; weep for thy crime and solicit pardon, and thou 
shalt see Jesus open his merciful arms, press thee to his 
bosom, and calling thee his son, give thee the kiss of 
peace, which alone can cure thee of the ills which thou 
has incurred by thy perfidious kiss. If thou dost not 
dare approach him, address thyself to his blessed Mother ; 
she will obtain mercy for thee. 

But no ! Judas is going neither to Jesus nor to Mary ; 
he gives way to despair ; his mind is darkened, his imag- 
ination presents only dismal images, his heart is a prey 
to rage ; and, becoming as cruel to himself as he had been 
to his divine Master, he seals his reprobation by putting 
himself to death. From his loathsome body his bowels 
burst forth, whilst his impure soul is carried to "his 
place" by devils! sad end of Judas! deplorable 
issue of crime ! If it were fully realized, would any 
one dare to commit sin? 

APPLICATION 

Let us, who shudder at the thought of the misfortune 
of Judas, fear and adore the judgments of God ; and let 
us comprehend to what excesses we may be led by unbri- 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 131 

died passion. Let us not count on our own strength, nor 
even on the means of sanctification at our disposal. 
Adam sinned in the terrestrial Paradise; Judas became 
a devil even in the company of our Lord. Let us not for- 
get that the wretch did not fall all at once : he began by- 
faults less, perhaps, than those which we allow ourselves ; 
and yet he was led to sacrilege, deicide, and despair ! 
Who can assure us that our shortcomings will not help to 
bring about our ruin ? 

Let us be faithful, then, in the smallest things; let 
us remain united to our Lord by prayer and charity. 
Let us not withdraw from our brethren ; let us shun the 
world, and all those who would lead us to become lax. 
It is on these conditions that we shall remain disciples 
of Jesus and avoid the misfortune of Judas. We shall 
then not compel our God to say of us : "His bishopric 
let another take/' 1 

Let us cherish the most entire confidence in the good- 
ness of God; let us remember that the greatest outrage 
that we can inflict on the heart of Jesus, is to doubt his 
mercy. Whatever may be our "sins, let us reflect that he 
wishes to forgive them, provided we truly repent of 
them. 

Let us draw a useful lesson from the answer of the 
chief priests to Judas. The world and the devil, whom 
these perfidious men represent, solicit us to evil by the 
hope of the happiness to be derived therefrom; and 
when, after having sinned, we are convinced by sad ex- 
perience that their promises were deceitful, they despise 
us and aggravate our ills. How many an unhappy 
youth led astray by perfidious counsels, is told, when his 
x Ps. cviii. 8. 



132 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

illusions are destroyed; "What is that to us? look thou 
to it!" 1 

Let a religious allow himself to be seduced by the 
allurements and vanities of the worlds and afterwards 
from his abyss of woe, complain of having been de- 
ceived, he will be told: "What is that to us? Look 
thou to it;" why didst thou look upon what thou 
oughtest not to have seen? Why didst thou give ear 
to discourses which thou shouldest not have heard ? Why 
didst thou detach thy heart from God to adhere to crea- 
tures? The miserable state to which thou art reduced 
is thy own work. What are the torments of thy soul to 
us ? 'Look thou to it V " Such shall be the language of 
the devil to each of his dupes for all eternity: "Look 
thou to it." Why didst thou listen to me? why didst 
thou follow my inspirations? Wast thou not told that 
I am the spirit of falsehood? 

Oh ! let us, then, never hearken to the suggestions of 
the devil, the world or the flesh. The example of Judas 
clearly proves that such conduct, instead of procuring 
happiness, only brings in its train a frightful legion of 
woes and pains, and is the cause of an- unrepentant 
death. 

PEAYEE 

I tremble, my God, at the thought that of myself 
I can work only my ruin. Oh! abandon me not, for 
then, like thy faithless disciple, I should say to the 
world and the devil : "What will you give me, and I will 
deliver him unto you ?" Alas ! what could they give me ? 
^att. xxvii. 4. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 133 

They have at their disposal only numberless evils and the 
torments of hell — all which would be the price of my 
treason. 

my Jesus, preserve me from the misfortune of 
offending thee. If, in the past, I have been of the num- 
ber of those who betray thee, grant that I may be hence- 
forth and forever of the number of those who love thee 
sincerely, and who consecrate themselves without reserve 
to thy service. This is the grace that I ask of thee 
through the intercession of thy divine Mother, the 
assured refuge of repentant sinners. 

Besume, page 392. 

Judas, blinded by avarice, had not foreseen all the 
consequences of his treason. 

1. But now he beholds the atrocity of his crime: 

2. He brings back to the Jews the money which he 
had received from them. 

3. "I have sinned," said he, "in betraying innocent 
blood." 

4. But they said: "What is that to us? Look thou 
to it." 

5. Then he falls into despair and hangs himself. 
— terrible example ! What a motive for us, 

1. To fear and adore the judgments of God! 

2. To distrust ourselves ! 

3. To renew our fidelity in little things ! 

4. To maintain in our hearts great confidence in God ! 

5. To be thoroughly convinced that although the devil 
and the world deceive us, yet there comes a moment 
when they say to their dupes, as the Jews said to Judas : 
Your damnation is your own work ; but what is that to 
us? 



TWENTY-THIRD MEDITATION 
CAUSES OF THE DESTRUCTION OF JUDAS 

Satan entered into him. — John xiii. 27. 

CONSIDERATION 

Judas was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus ; he lived 
in the companionship of all that was holiest on earth; 
he had received from his divine Master the most signal 
favors, even the gift of miracles. Destined to evangelize 
the nations of the earth he had received the power of 
him who sent him y and, at his voice, sinners had returned 
to good, devils had fled, and the possessed had recovered 
peace. To him and to the other apostles, it had been 
said: I will establish yon as angel of my people; one 
day, "you also shall sit on twelve seats judging the 
twelve tribes of Israel." 1 

And yet Judas has fallen ; and his sad story is that of 
a man for ever dishonored, accursed of heaven and 
earth. How has this star been dimmed? how has its 
light been quenched ? How has this pillar in the temple 
of the New Law been overthrown ? my God ! I dare 
not lift the veil that covers this mystery of iniquity. 

Nevertheless, all that is written in the Holy Books is 
for our instruction. That the misfortune of Judas, re- 
corded in the Gospels, may be to us, then, a salutary 
lesson, let us seek its causes in order to avoid them, and 
Matt. xix. 28. 
134 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 135 

so escape the abyss into which that wretched apostle was 
cast. The way to evil is easy to traverse. The descent 
to iniquity is, indeed, quickly made, as experience but 
too well proves. Nevertheless, it is not usually accom- 
plished at once. In general, it is only by degrees that 
men quit the way of virtue, become addicted to vice, 
and arrive, like Judas, at the fatal state of hardness of 
heart. 

Perhaps, if we were to retrace his course, we should 
find that his first step towards evil was a slight infi- 
delity, one of those faults which we often commit with- 
out scruple, and by which we are predisposed to commit 
others more considerable, till even the greatest crimes 
no longer frighten us. Besides, the Gospel points out 
divers steps in the fall of Judas: — 

1. A want of charity towards his neighbor : — "He said 
this, not because he cared for the poor." 1 Wow, he that 
loves not the poor who are his brethren, abides in death; 
and, in that state, what could Judas produce but the 
fruits of death? 

2. A spirit of criticism : — "Why was not this ointment 
sold for three hundred pence ?" 2 

3. Avarice and theft: — "He was a thief, and having 
the purse," 3 he stole part of the money intended to supply 
the wants of all the apostles. 

4. Dissimulation and hypocrisy: — -He veiled his pas- 
sion under the appearance of charity: "Why was not 
this ointment sold for three hundred pence and given 
to the poor?" 4 

5. Audacity and contempt of the warnings of Jesus : 

^ohn xii. 6. Wbid. xii. 5. 3 Ibid. xii. 6. 

4 John xii. 5. 



136 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

— "Is it I/' that shall betray thee? he asked; and the 
wretch had already sold him to the Jews. 

Such are the principal steps in the fall of Judas, a 
fall so great that the very thought of it makes one shud- 
der! Beginning with small thefts, continuing with 
hypocrisy and falsehood, he soon attained such a degree 
of wickedness as to conclude an infamous bargain wdth 
the Jews to deliver up his divine Master to them. What 
a subject to inspire terror in all men! What a proof 
that one sinks rapidly to the lowest depths of evil ! 

Yes, the bargain was made several da)^s before, and 
the traitor is seeking an opportunity to deliver Jesus 
to his enemies; yet he still delays the accomplishment 
of his project. It is because he has not yet reached the 
height of iniquity. What then? Is there any thing 
worse than the betrayal of Jesus to the Jews? Yes! 
the giving up of himself to Satan by sacrilege ! 

The last supper is celebrated; our adorable Savior 
with his own hands gives himself to his disciples; and 
Judas receives and eats that celestial Bread, and thus 
to his own body and soul, which are the abode of devils, 
unites the body and soul of Jesus Christ. The sacrilege 
is consummated! Woe to him who has made himself 
guilty thereof ! Judas is now only a slave of the devil. 
He rises to go and accomplish his design ; he withdraws 
forever from the society of the disciples. When one is 
so far advanced in the way of evil as he then was, who 
can prevent him from committing every crime, from 
rushing without a moment's hesitation to a desperate 
death, and thereby casting himself into the eternal 
abyss ? Is he not exposed to forget that there is a remedy 
^att. xxvi. 25. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 137 

for even so great an evil — regret for the sin committed 
and confidence in God's mercy? 

APPLICATION 

Alas ! who would not tremble while considering the 
conduct of Judas ? Called to follow Jesus Christ, loaded 
with graces and favors, witnessing the sublime lessons 
and the example of his divine Master, he is, nevertheless, 
lost for all eternity ; and that, because he was unfaithful 
in small things, and because, little by little, he yielded 
to faults which appeared light, but which, nevertheless, 
disposed him to commit the greatest crimes! Let us 
then search our own hearts at this very moment, and in 
the presence of Jesus Christ, study the sentiments that 
reign within us, lest we too, like Judas, become the slaves 
of some unruly passion. 

Have we no affection for earthly goods? Are our 
hands perfectly clean in God's sight? Are we entirely 
free from all desire for ownership ? Does our conscience 
reproach us with nothing — absolutely nothing — in the 
administration confided to us? let us never allow 
ourselves to dispose of any money otherwise than as 
ordered or permitted by our superiors! This point is 
of primary importance. Negligence in the observance 
of religious poverty always entails the most fatal conse- 
quences and leads directly to the way followed by Judas ; 
while the practice of this virtue checks a multitude of 
faults in their very beginning, and maintains us in the 
right way. 

Let us shun all dissimulation; let us be frank and 
open with our superiors. Hypocrisy, whatever its 



138 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

motive, is always odious; God, who is truth itself, de- 
tests deceit, and abandons him who is guilty of it. Let 
us listen with docility to the admonitions of our supe- 
riors. Let us hearken to the cry of our conscience : with- 
out this precaution, we shall quickly fall into tepidity, 
and ultimately into hardness of heart. 

As it was sacrilege that sealed the obduracy of Judas, 
let us not finish this meditation without examining 
whether our communions are made with the requisite 
dispositions. Thank God, we, doubtless have purity of 
conscience; but have we the fervor that should animate 
us ? Do we never approach that divine Sacrament with 
tepiditj^, a state which if not combatted may lead insen- 
sibly to unworthy communions? 

Let us every day ask of God the grace of perseverance. 
Let us beseech him with all the fervor of our souls never 
to suffer us to become his enemies, but on the contrary, 
to give us the grace to serve him with ever increasing 
fidelity till the hour when he will call us to himself to 
receive our everlasting reward. 

PEAYEE 

my God, how slippery is my path and how quickly 
I might cross the interval that separates me from the 
eternal abyss, didst thou not hold out thy hand to sus- 
tain me, and send thine angel to guide my steps. When 
I think, Jesus, that man is capable of every crime, 
that I may even become a Judas and one day betray thee, 
I tremble and shudder with horror. Oh! behold what 
my soul suffers, and reassure me. Grant thy poor ser- 
vant the grace of perseverance and of fidelity to thee 



OF OUE LORD JESUS CHEIST 139 

even unto death. I ask it of thee through the interces- 
sion of thy most holy Mother, whom I invoke from the 
bottom of my heart, saying, Help of Christians, pray for 
me. 

Kesume, page 393. 

It is not all at once that Judas falls to the lowest 
depths of evil : there are steps in his fall. 

1. He is -first unfaithful in little things. 

2. Then he is wanting in charity, and cherishes a 
spirit of criticism. 

3. Then come avarice and theft. 

4. Then hypocrisy, contempt of the warnings of Jesus, 
the project of betraying his divine Master, the sacrilege, 
the consummation of his treason. 

5. Finally despair, and death in sin. 

What crimes ! To what misfortunes they lead ! 
— Let us, then, be convinced: 

1. That one fault always disposes to a more grievous 
one. 

2. That sin produces only sorrow and death. 

3. That attachment to creatures is a chain by which 
the devil leads us whither he will. 

4. That the virtue of poverty is our safeguard. 

5. That we ought to pray earnestly every day for the 
grace of perseverance. 



TWENTY-FOURTH MEDITATION 
JESUS BEFORE PILATE 

[They J shall deliver him to the Gentiles. — Matt. xx. 19. 

CONSIDERATION 

Let us consider how Jesus, after having suffered all 
sorts of insult and ill treatment in the streets leading 
from the palace of Caiphas to that of Pilate, arrives at 
length before this, the third tribunal, to be delivered to 
the Gentiles. By this solemn act the people of God, 
represented by the grand Council, renounce the Messiah 
promised to their Fathers, and declare that they do not 
belong to him who has been made Priest and King by 
his heavenly Father. 

unhappy Jews, what are you doing? to what ex- 
tremity are you going? What! like Judas who de- 
livered up the Savior to you, will you deliver him to the 
Gentiles to be condemned to an infamous death? You 
understand not what you lose; you see not the abyss to 
which envy and hatred are dragging jou, when you de- 
liver unto death him who came to deliver you from 
bondage, and to make you happy for ever ! 

And would it were only a misguided populace who 
demand the Savior's death ! — but no : it is the chief 
priests, it is the heads of the nation, who are most in- 
veterate in their hatred of him, who direct the con- 
spiracy, who excite the multitude, who deliver up the 

140 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 141 

Messiah to the infidels. They give over Jesus in chains 
to the governor's soldiers; but they enter not into the 
pretorium, that they may be able to eat the pasch. 
Hypocrites, who fear to defile themselves by the touch 
of an unbeliever, and who scruple not to compass the 
death of an innocent man, — of him whom they have not 
been able to convict of any, the least, fault, and who, 
by word and deed, has given proof that he is holiness 
itself! They fear to contract any legal impurity, and 
yet they do not fear to defile their souls with the greatest 
of crimes ! 

Meanwhile, the governor condescends to come forth 
from his palace, and advances towards them; he con- 
sents to give an audience on the steps of the pretorium 
to receive Jesus there, and to hear the charges that may 
be brought against him. 

Blinded by their hatred of the divine Savior, the un- 
happy chiefs of the Jewish nation had imagined that 
Pilate would condemn him without examination, simply 
at their request. "They would fain/' says St. Leo, 
"make the governor not the judge of the case, but the 
blind executor of their sentence." But their calculation 
miscarried. Pilate does not comply all at once with their 
wishes; he sees in the Jews only a crowd of accusers 
whose assertions he has the right to examine; hence it 
is that he says to them, "Of what do you accuse this 
man ?" Surprised at such a question, and scarcely know- 
ing what charges to bring forward, they content them- 
selves with answering vaguely, that if he were not a 
criminal, notoriously recognized as such, they would not 
have delivered him up. 

calumny! blasphemy! He who has done only 



142 MEDITATIONS OX THE PASSION 

good to all, even to those who desire his death, is called a 
malefactor ! What ! amongst the crowd that hears this 
accusation, is there not one to come forward, proclaim 
the works of his infinite charity, and say to all: "I 
was sick and he cured me," "I was blind and he opened 
my eyes;" or "I was possessed of a devil and he gave 
me rest and peace." . . . But no : passion or criminal 
tepidity makes those whom he has loaded with benefits 
ungrateful, and no one takes up his defence. 

Pilate sees in the reply of the Jews only unwillingness 
or inability to arrange clearly the heads of their accusa- 
tion. Wherefore he says to them : Since you know him 
to be a malefactor, and you will not tell me the crimes 
whereof you accuse him, "take him you, and judge him 
according to your law." "But," answered the Jews, "it 
it not lawful for us to put any one to death." 1 

Then and there they acknowledged that they no longer 
have supreme authority, since the sceptre has passed 
from the house of Judah. It is, therefore, true, that, 
according to the prophecy of Jacob, Christ has come 
among men; but it was also written that he was to be 
disowned by the children of Israel. 

Let us note, also, that the Jews substitute other charges 
for those which they had already preferred : there is no 
longer question of religion, of the destruction of the tem- 
ple, or of blasphemy ; the mode of procedure is changed, 
and iniquity belies itself. 

"Of what crime do you accuse him?" again asks the 
governor. The chief priests seeing that Pilate was not 
satisfied with vague accusations, and moreover, that he 
did not recognize as a grave misdemeanor the pretended 

Mohn xviii. 31. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 143 

violations of their law which they had first alleged, be- 
gan to think that an accusation concerning public order 
and the interests of Caesar, would make more impres- 
sion on him. They therefore reply: "We have found 
this man perverting our nation, and forbidding to give 
tribute to Caesar, and saying that he is Christ the 
king." ' 

what, a perfidious choice of lying accusations! 
How well calculated they are to bring the governor to 
pronounce the wished-f or condemnation ! But what 
odious calumnies! Jesus, the prince of peace, is ac- 
cused of exciting the people to revolt ! He who said to 
the Pharisees themselves, "Bender ... to Csesar the 
things that are Caesar's," 2 is accused by those hypocrites 
of forbidding tribute to be paid to Caesar ! He who fled 
to the mountain when the people would make him king, 
is accused in the people's name of pretending to royalty ! 
Such is the perfidy of his enemies. how grievously 
it afflicts his divine heart ! 

APPLICATION 

Let us deplore, in the malice of the enemies of Jesus, 
a triumph of the devil himself. To what depths of wick- 
edness does not man descend under the influence of 
that spirit of darkness! Alas! Satan would likewise 
degrade us to the same level, if we followed his sugges- 
tions. 

Pilate refused to yield to the demand of the chief 
priests when once he saw that they were animated by 
envy. Like him, let us regard with suspicion all that is 
x Luke xxiii. 2. 2 Mark xii. 17. 



144 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

demanded by passion of any kind. When we are urged 
on by pride, envy, or any other inordinate feeling, let lis 
refrain from acting; let us wait till we have restored 
calm to our hearts, and let us then weigh the matter care- 
fully before God. Let us distrust grumblers and all those 
who speak against authority. Since it is passion that 
inspires them, their fault-finding ought to be an object 
of suspicion to us. 

Let us not imitate the Jews who scruple to contract a 
legal impurity, while they dare to commit the greatest 
of crimes. Let us beware of forming to ourselves a false 
conscience, which always seeks to justify what is pleas- 
ing and conformable to nature. 

Let us adore Jesus despised and calumniated; let us 
compassionate what he suffers from the blasphemies 
uttered against him; and let us try, by our praises, to 
offer him such reparation as may console his divine 
heart. 

Let us study how he acts towards those who are de- 
stroying his reputation, and for whom, nevertheless, he 
entertains the most ardent charity! What a lesson for 
us who cannot even bear to be reproved for our faults ! 
When shall we by our patience in suffering everything 
from our neighbor, testify that we are really disciples of 
Jesus ? 

PRAYER 

Thou, Jesus, the holy one of God, art accused, 
and thou bearest it without complaining ! What an ex- 
ample of patience for me! Alas! how far I still am 
from being thy disciple! The slightest offence annoys 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 145 

me; I can bear nothing. grant that I may change 
my conduct, and that, animated by the desire of being 
like unto thee, I may resolutely embrace the practice of 
humility, and accept with resignation and joy all that it 
may please thee to have me. suffer in my reputation ! 

I beseech thee also, Eternal Wisdom, to defend 
me from my passions. I know that they bind my 
reason and induce me to take evil for good. Wherefore 
I beg thee, through the intercession of Mary, to give me 
the grace never to fall under their control, but ever to 
be master of myself, acting calmly under thy inspiration. 

Kesume, page 393. 

The Jews deliver Jesus to the governor. 

1. In their blindness they refuse to acknowledge the 
Messiah. 

2. In their infidelity they break the covenant which 
the Lord had made with them. 

3. In their hypocrisy they dare not enter into the 
pretorium for fear of contracting legal impurity, and yet 
they dare procure the death of an innocent person. 

4. In their blasphemy they denounce the Man- God 
as a wicked man. 

5. In their perfidy, they have recourse to calumny, 
and represent as seditious and hostile to Caesar, him who 
is the Prince of peace, the perfect model of obedience. 

— What a mystery of iniquity ! In meditating on it, 

1. Let us deplore the malice of the enemies of Jesus. 

2. Let us distrust our passions, for they mislead us. 

3. Let us guard against forming an erroneous con- 
science. 

4. Let us adore Jesus disowned and calumniated. 

5. After his example, let us bear detraction patiently. 



TWENTY-FIFTH MEDITATION 
JESUS INTERROGATED AS TO HIS ROYALTY 

My kingdom is not of this world. — John xviii. 36. 

CONSIDERATION 

The Jews wishing to ruin the Savior more effectually 
in Pilate's mind, persist in representing him as a sedi- 
tious character who is disturbing their nation, prevent- 
ing the payment of tribute to Caesar, and setting himself 
up as king, The governor at once suspects the falsity 
of these allegations, for, had they been true, he would 
certainly have heard of them from those persons who 
had care of the public safety. He perceives that the 
Jews wish to circumvent him, and to extort from him 
an iniquitous sentence. Therefore, he takes Jesus aside 
to question him on the charges brought against him by 
the Jews. Let us contemplate our divine Savior resign- 
ing himself to this new humiliation; let us behold him 
standing as a criminal before Pilate. What degrada- 
tion for him who has been established by his Father 
Judge of all creatures, for him who shall one 
day pronounce final sentence on the living and the 
dead! 

Meanwhile Pilate, who does not wish to share in the 
injustice of the Jews, speaks with a certain degree of 
kindness to Jesus, and, passing over the first heads 
of the accusation as evidently false or unimportant, 

146 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 147 

questions him on the third: "Art thou the king of 
the Jews?" 1 

This question could have been suggested to the 
governor neither by the antecedents of Jesus nor the 
situation in which he saw him. Hence our adorable 
Master replies: "Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or 
have others told it thee of me?" 2 

Pilate is astonished at a question that calls upon him 
to reveal the motives of his action, and he answers with 
impatience: Am I a Jew? Thy nation and the chief 
priests have delivered thee up to me; but as I have 
reason to think that they conceal what really actuates 
them in a measure of such grave importance, I wish 
to learn it from thyself. What is the issue between 
them and thee? "What hast thou done," 3 to give rise 
to their accusations ? 

Pilate, thou askest him what he has done, and on 
what account he has been summoned before thy tri- 
bunal ! Dost thou not know, then, what works he has 
accomplished? Interrogate the sick whom he has 
cured, the possessed whom he has delivered, the dead 
whom he has raised to life, and they will tell thee 
what use he has made of his divine power. Interrogate 
those who have heard him with an upright heart, and 
they will tell thee what influence his words had on 
souls, adding that "never did man speak like this 
man." 4 Interrogate his very enemies: they will testify 
that they could never find aught to censure in his 
doctrine or his conduct. 

Jesus now declares his royalty, but first he makes 

'John xviii. 33. 2 IUd. 34. 

z Ibia. 35. 4 John vii. 46. 



148 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

answer to Pilate, telling him: "My kingdom is not 
of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, my 
servants would certainly strive that I should not be 
delivered to the Jews; but now my kingdom is not 
from hence." 1 Let us reflect a moment on this sug- 
gestive answer, and let us bless our divine Master for 
deigning, for our instruction, thus to transform into 
schools of wisdom the very places where he appeared 
most humbled. 

At this moment he reveals to the world the mystery 
of his royalty, and declares that it is very different 
from that of an earthly prince, that, unlike the latter, 
it does not require territory, armies, external pomp, 
and splendor ; that consequently, it is nowise incompati- 
ble with the state of ignominy to which he is reduced, 
and that even death cannot strip him of it. 

admirable words ! truly celestial doctrine ! 
Jesus is, therefore, king, and truly king; but his 
reign is different from that of earthly sovereigns, his 
empire is specially over minds and hearts; it is not 
limited to any one land: it extends over all countries 
and all nations. The kingdom of Christ is not of this 
world: hence the Jews have formed a false idea of the 
royalty of the Messiah ; they have failed to interpret 
aright the prophecies relating thereto. 

The kingdom of Christ is not of this world: hence 
we have reason to believe that his kingdom is spiritual 
and divine, that it is established in hearts by the power 
of grace, that it is extended by the arms of patience, 
and that it prospers by contempt of earthly goods. 

The kingdom of Christ is not of this world: our 
UUd. xviii. 36. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 149 

King does not, therefore, promise us temporal advan- 
tages: his rewards, like his kingdom, are of a very 
different nature from those of earthly kings. 

The kingdom of Christ is not of this world : there is, 
therefore, another world where he rules as sovereign 
who, at this moment, is a victim of the most odious 
injustice. 

The kingdom of Christ is not of this world: nor do 
those who are really subjects of Jesus Christ, belong 
to this world, for they have rejected its spirit; they 
have renounced the pomps and the ways of the world 
as not conformable to the laws of the Gospel. The 
world, in turn, is opposed to the followers of Christ; 
it persecutes them and despises them, as Jesus foretold 
to his apostles. 1 

The kingdom of Christ is not of this world; hence 
the Jews have no right to deliver their divine King to 
Pilate. Of what concern to the Eoman governor is a 
royalty so totally different from that of Caesar? Never- 
theless, Pilate interrogates Jesus anew: "Art thou a 
king then?" "Thou sayest that I am a king," replies 
our divine Master. . . . "For this was I born, and 
for this came I into the world, that I should give testi- 
mony to the truth : every one that is of the truth hear- 
eth my voice." 2 

Prom these words, the governor understood that the 
question between Jesus and the Jews was one of doc- 
trine, and, therefore, did not concern the Eoman laws. 
Hence he said, with a sort of disdain : "What is truth ?" 
And without waiting for the answer, "he went forth 
again to the Jews." 3 

^ohn xvl 33. 2 John xviii. 37. *Ibid. 38. 



150 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

APPLICATION 

Let us beware of imitating the criminal indifference 
of this magistrate. Let us hear our adorable Master; 
he will tell us that he is "the way, the truth, and the 
life ;"* the way by which we must walk to arrive at 
his heavenly kingdom, the truth which we must believe, 
the true light which enlightens every man that comes 
into this world, the life which our souls are to enjoy. 
Let us be convinced that, without him, we are in a 
state of death, of death begun in this world by the 
privation of sanctifying grace, and consummated in 
the other by the privation of eternal glory. 

Let us acknowledge him as the King of kings. Let 
us, with the liveliest affection, pay him the homage of 
our dependence. Let us devote ourselves to his glory. 
Let us establish his reign in our hearts : let us beg him 
to dwell there as on his throne, and to keep all our 
sentiments in perfect conformity with his holy law. 
Let us accomplish all that he asks of us and makes 
known to us through our superiors. It is thus that 
we shall attain to the possession of that everlasting 
kingdom whither he calls us to reign with him. 

PEAYEK 

Jesus, my divine King, I contemplate thee, in thy 
state of humiliation standing before idolatrous magis- 
trates, who are seated to interrogate and judge thee ; but 
I know that thy royalty is not like that of earthly 
sovereigns, that it is nowise lessened by these outward 
1 Ibid. xiv. 6. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 151 

appearances which are so degrading to the eyes of nature. 
Yes ! under the form of a slave, I recognize thee as my 
Savior and my God, and I humbly adore thee as such. 
Thou callest me to follow thee, thou wiliest me to 
be one of thy subjects. Accept my thanks for that 
election which is so glorious for me; but grant me 
grace to be worthy of it by truly Christian courage and 
by a constant fidelity, so that when I appear before 
thee on the day when thou alone shalt remain king, 
thou mayst acknowledge me as one of thy faithful sub- 
jects, and call me to reign with thee. 

Eesume, page 394. 

The Jews had accused Jesus of calling himself king : 
it is on this head that Pilate interrogates him : 

1. "Art thou," he asks, "the king of the Jews ?" 

2. "What hast thou done?" 

3. Jesus affirms his loyalty. 

4. But he says that his kingdom is not of this world. 

5. He adds, that he came into the world to bear 
testimony to truth. 

— Let us meditate on each of the words of our divine 
Master, and, 

1. Adore him as truth itself. 

2. Acknowledge him as our sovereign King. 

3. Make him reign in our hearts. 

4. Withdraw more and more from the world in order 
to merit a share in his kingdom. 

5. Accomplish all that he demands of us. 

Thus shall we render ourselves worthy of reigning 
with him in glory. 



TWENTY-SIXTH MEDITATION 

SILENCE OF JESUS BEFORE PILATE 

And he answered him not to any word; so that the governor 
wondered exceedingly. — Matt, xxvii. 14. 

CONSIDEKATION 

Pilate having heard our divine Savior reply that his 
kingdom was not of this world, goes out of the pre- 
torium to the Jews, and tells them : "I find no cause in 
him/' 1 whereon to condemn him. Then the chief 
priests and the ancients of the people, still eager to 
attain their end, begin to utter a host of accusations 
to which Jesus makes no reply. Meanwhile Pilate, as 
though disconcerted by this fury on the part of the 
Jews, again interrogates the Savior, who had been 
brought before him: "Dost not thou hear how great 
testimonies they allege against thee?" But Jesus re- 
mained silent. 2 

Undoubtedly our divine Master could have nullified 
the new charges brought against him; he could, with 
one word, have confounded the malice of his enemies. 
Nevertheless, "he answered never a word;" there, as at 
the tribunal of Caiphas, he keeps silence. 

"What dignity, what grandeur in that silence !" 
exclaims St. Ambrose. What a spectacle for admira- 
tion! Behold the Son of God in the presence of men 
^ohn xix. 6. 2 Matt. xxvii. 13, 14. 

152 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 153 

who are sold to iniquity. He is exposed to the contra- 
diction of sinners, to all the shafts of calumny; he 
can with one word destroy every one of these charges 
trumped up by insolent malice : and yet he hears them 
all in silence, without bitterness, without impatience, 
without emotion. Could he more eloquently proclaim 
his innocence and his dignity? 

Pilate himself is surprised and amazed at a silence 
so mysterious, so wholly unprecedented in such grave 
circumstances. He sees Jesus accused of a grievous 
crime, for which he is about to meet a cruel and igno- 
minious death; he knows that he is innocent; he has 
heard much of his wisdom and his eloquence: and yet 
he sees him standing perfectly tranquil, not uttering a 
single word in his own justification. 

He admires him, and again resolves to save him ; but 
he is weak, and consequently culpable, since he is vested 
with authority to act; nevertheless he dares not openly 
oppose the Jews and treat them as calumniators. He 
would wish Jesus himself to persuade them of his 
innocence : wherefore he says to him in their presence : 
"Answerest thou nothing? Behold how great testi- 
monies they allege against thee." But Jesus still 
remains silent, and the governor is more and more 
astonished. Let us reflect on the conduct of our 
divine Master under these circumstances, and let 
us try to understand what he teaches us there- 
by. 

"Jesus keeps silence," says St. Jerome, "because he 
wills that our redemption be no longer delayed. He 
answers all that it is important for him to answer. He 
declares his divinity before Caiphas and the Sanhedrim, 



154 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

and his royalty before Pilate. Nothing more remains 
but to die for the world's salvation." 

Jesus keeps silence, because his word has no effect 
on hardened hearts that sin with full knowledge. Be- 
sides, why should he speak, when even his judge de- 
clares him innocent, and the new accusations against 
him are no better founded than the others ? Moreover, 
the clamors and vociferations of the Jews are the 
effect of violent passion, and hence reveal clearly 
enough the injustice of those who utter them. The 
more immoderate, the more tumultuous their cries, the 
more useless does justification become. 

Jesus also keeps silence in order to expiate our 
faults of speech, especially those which we have com- 
mitted in trying to excuse our sins. Our first parents 
excused themselves, and thereby committed a new 
fault; we, their descendants, imitate them, and, like 
them, we become more guilty. Now Jesus in his pas- 
sion makes atonement for us : it is necessary, therefore, 
that he should expiate those sins of excuse in a special 
manner, and this he does by his silence at the moment 
when his enemies unjustly accuse him. He thinks not 
of himself, the Innocent One, but of guilty us whom 
he represents; he is silent, because our sins are without 
excuse before God; he refrains from speaking before 
human justice, because we have nothing to reply before 
the justice of God. 

Jesus keeps silence, to exercise the most terrible of 
punishments on his enemies. Behold the last act of my 
vengeance, says God to Jerusalem, in the book of 
Ezechiel: "My indignation shall rest in thee; and my 
jealousy shall depart from thee; and I will cease and 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 155 

be angry no more." 1 Now is this vengeance wreaked 
upon the Jews. 

When Jesus rebuked them for their wickedness, when 
he reproached them with their hypocrisy and with their 
profanation of the temple, he was merciful to them; 
the greater his indignation against them, the greater 
also his goodness of heart. But now that he is silent, 
he accomplishes a terrible act of his justice in their 
regard; he declares them unworthy of hearing his holy 
word, and condemns them to remain in their blindness. 

Finally, Jesus keeps silence before his enemies to 
give us all a great example of patience and discretion 
in the time of adversity: in making no reply to the 
calumny of which he is the object, he teaches us to 
suffer patiently and to forgive all the injury done to 
our reputation. 

APPLICATION 

Let us faithfully observe the rule of silence. We are 
religious, called by a special vocation to be disciples of 
Jesus Christ. Our Master kept silence almost all his 
life, even when his reputation and his life were at 
stake. Can we, then, do less than keep silence in the 
circumstances prescribed by the Rule? Let us often 
remember that where there is much talk, there is also 
much sin. 

What a lesson for us is this silence of Jesus when 

defamed by the calumnies of his enemies? Do we 

imitate his conduct when the malice of men attacks 

our honor and says every thing false of us? But not 

^zech, xvi, 42, 



156 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

to speak of such hard trials, are we not vexed and 
troubled by a mere reprimand, by the slightest re- 
proach ? Alas ! we are indeed unworthy disciples of 
Jesus Christ ! 

Let us judge ourselves severely, and beware of trying 
to excuse our faults. Let us remember that Jesus con- 
demned himself to silence to expiate those sins of ex- 
cuse, which are, as it were, the crowning piece of the 
structure reared by our crimes. When we have erred, 
let us confess it sincerely, and then remain silent and 
confused before the Lord. 

Let us hear our divine Master when he speaks, and 
let us put his word in practice, fearing lest he should 
punish us with that dreadful silence which leaves man 
in blindness and hardness of heart. 

Let us embrace these various practices with a view 
to honor the silence of Jesus during his passion. 

PEAYEE 

They accuse thee, Jesus, and thou sayest nothing 
to justify thyself, although thou couldst easily have 
done so, and everything appeared to impose it upon 
thee as an obligation. Thou wouldst thus teach us that 
silence is often the principal obligation of a Christian, 
because by it he atones for his sins of speech, and 
especially for his sins of excuse; he maintains his soul 
in peace during times of trial, he edifies his neighbor, 
he imitates and obeys thee. 

Oh! teach me to keep due silence in my holy state, 
to bear without murmur or complaint the contempt of 
men and the malicious constructions which they may 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 157 

put upon my actions. This grace I ask of thee through 
the intercession of Mary, thy most pure Mother; for 
during her whole life she faithfully practised those 
virtues which I have just been contemplating in thee, 
and which I desire to possess in order to please thee. 

Eesume, page 394. 

The enemies of Jesus continue to accuse him; the 
governor again interrogates him, but he makes no 
answer. 

Why does Jesus keep silence ? It is because : 

1. His words are not necessary since his innocence 
is evident. 

2. He is expiating at this moment our sins of speech. 

3. He is expiating in particular our sins of excuse. 

4. He is exercising rigorous justice on his enemies in 
leaving them in their blindness. 

5. He is giving us a sublime example of patience. 
— Let us, then, as religious, give proof that we take 

him for our model : 

1. Let us observe the silence prescribed by our Eules. 

2. Let us answer detraction with naught but patience 
and charity. 

3. Let us never excuse ourselves unless ordered to 
do so. 

4. Let us heed the word of Christ, fearing lest he 
may cease to speak to us. 

5. Let us embrace these different practices with a 
view to honor his silence during his passion. 



TWENTY-SEVENTH MEDITATION 
JESUS SENT TO HEROD 

He sent him away to Herod, who himself was also at Jerusalem 
in those days. — Luke xxiii. 7. 

CONSIDEEATION 

The Jews, determined to have Jesus condemned at 
any cost, press the governor with increasing fury : "He 
stirreth up the people/'. they say, "teaching throughout 
all Judea, beginning from Galilee, to this place." 5 
Pilate knows well the falsity of this new charge; but 
he avails himself of it as a means to rid himself of 
an affair that begins to be troublesome. Having heard 
the Jews utter the word Galilee, he asks if Jesus is a 
Galilean. On learning that he is under the jurisdiction 
of Herod, tetrarch of Galilee, who was at that time 
visiting Jerusalem, he sends him to that prince, taking 
complacency, as it were, in the thought that he will 
thus be better able to pronounce sentence with due 
knowledge of the case. • 

The Jews, profiting by every incident to humble 
Jesus, and still hoping to obtain his condemnation, 
hurry him off to Herod, consoling themselves with the 
thought that the murderer of the Precursor will not 
spare the Master himself; that he who had given the 
head of the holiest of the children of men to pay for 
a Luke xxiii. 5. 
158 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 159 

a dance, will not refuse to condemn Jesus, whose death 
is demanded by the great council of the nation. More- 
over, say they, Herod is still more interested than 
Pilate in punishing him who styled himself the Christ 
the king. The motives that had prompted the father 
to order the massacre of the children of Bethlehem, 
ought likewise to move the son to get rid of a man who 
is calumniously represented as dangerous to his power. 
With such thoughts they approach the palace, which 
has been transformed into a court of justice. 

Let us here remark with astonishment, before how 
many tribunals Jesus Christ, who is innocence itself, 
allows himself to be dragged during his passion. He 
first appeared before that of the two sacrilegious, cruel 
and envious high-priests; then before that of an idola- 
trous magistrate; and now he is brought before the 
murderer of St. John the Baptist. What humiliation! 

At last he reaches this new theatre of suffering. 
Herod had felt a sensible pleasure on learning of his 
approach; not, indeed, that he desired to profit by his 
salutary teachings, but that he hoped to see him work 
some miracle. 

The chiefs of the synagogue now renew the accusa- 
tions which they had brought against Jesus in the court 
of Pilate; and here, as in the pretorium, the adorable 
Victim gives calumny full scope, and remains silent. 
Herod asks some questions; but our divine Savior 
makes no answer. 

Let us consider why Jesus still refuses to break his 
silence. It is because here also he expiates our sins 
of speech ; he teaches us patience, and he visits the Jews 
with the most fearful of punishments in refusing to 



160 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

speak to them. Besides, he is silent to show that slaves 
of an impure passion, such as Herod, cannot understand, 
much less relish, the word of God. Our meek Savior, 
who fulfills, and even anticipates the wishes of the 
humble, not only works no miracle in the presence of 
Herod, but even refuses to utter a single word, thus 
testifying how much he condemns his excesses and his 
pride. 

Herod does not understand the silence of Jesus, and 
taking offense thereat, treats him with contempt, as 
if he were a fool and a blockhead. He has him clothed 
in a white robe, and he presents him, in this state, as 
a laughing stock to the soldiers of his guard and to all 
the people. Jesus is now exposed to most cruel mockery 
and the most humiliating remarks. Every one looks 
upon him as a fool, and, following the example of 
Herod, takes pleasure in insulting him. 

Pushed hither and thither, dragged from side to 
side, taunted and derided, the Savior of the world is, 
at this moment, inundated, as it were, with a deluge of 
ignominy and opprobrium. All that the fury of the 
devils could invent is made use of to ridicule and de- 
grade him. Add to this, that the Jews, who are his 
fellow-citizens, and the Galileans, among whom he was 
brought up, unite in offering these shameful insults. 

And yet he neither utters a complaint nor feels 
irritation; his face betrays no resentment, no passion, 
no desire of revenge. He does not raise his voice 
to demand justice ; he manifests only the most heroic 
charity for men and resignation to the will of his 
Father. He prays for those even who insult him, and 
invokes on them all the graces and blessings of heaven, 



OF OUR LOHD JESUS CHRIST 161 

which are still more numerous than the outrages where- 
with they afflict him. 

divine Word, eternal Wisdom of the Father, 
who dost manifest so much patience in suffering all 
these humiliations for our sakes, how thou dost con- 
found our pride, our sensitiveness, and our self love ! 
Teach us to know the value of humiliations borne after 
thine example, and grant us the courage to accept with 
perfect resignation all those which Providence permits 
to befall us ! 

APPLICATION 

While we contemplate Jesus outraged, scoffed, 
dressed as a fool, let us compassionate his sufferings, 
and bless him for enduring so much contumely through 
love for us. 

Let us deplore the blindness of Herod and the Jews, 
and that in general of all men who are ruled by their 
passions. To what crimes do not these disorderly feel- 
ings give rise ! Let us judge by the conduct of the 
enemies of Jesus : they called light darkness ; they made 
the Word of God an object of derision; they treated 
as a fool him who is wisdom itself. 

Let us, who acknowledge Jesus Christ to be our Lord 
and our God, try by our faith and piety to make 
amends for the sacrilegious contempt to which he was 
subjected during his passion. Let us adore him as the 
eternal Truth that gives light to the understanding. 

Let us dread above all other punishments, that of 
the silence of Jesus; let us fear lest he who is truth 
itself, refuse to speak to our hearts. Let us remember 



162 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

that he is silent in the tumult of passion, and that his 
silence is the most terrible punishment that can be 
inflicted on a soul on this earth. 

Let us carefully preserve the white robe of our inno- 
cence, for by it our souls become like unto Jesus Christ. 
It was to inspire us with a love of innocence and purity 
that he permitted himself to be clad in white in Herod's 
palace. 

Let us meet raillery with courage; let us not be sur- 
prised if we are ridiculed for our manner of life, and 
for practising the virtues of our state. Why is it strange 
that we be treated as fools, when Jesus himself was 
so treated in circumstances infinitely more painful than 
any in which we can ever be placed? 

PEAYEE 

We behold thee, Jesus, in the presence of Herod 
and his courtiers, standing for the fourth time like a 
criminal before his judge. Thou refusest submission to 
no tribunal, because, considering thyself as charged 
with every sin, thou wiliest to be brought before every 
tribunal. What outrages thou dost suffer! Thou art 
insulted, mocked, and treated as a fool; and yet thou 
art the eternal Wisdom, the source of all knowledge, 
the light of all minds. What odious injustice! what 
sacrilege ! what blasphemy ! 

My God, behold us prostrate at thy feet, to adore 
thee, and to atone for the contempt which thou didst 
endure. Grant that we may always profess the great- 
est and most profound respect for thee and thy holy 
religion; that we may bear patiently in union with thee 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 163 

the humiliations, the contempt, and the insults of men : 
that we may look upon the white robe wherewith thou 
wast clad in derision, as a symbol both of thy innocence 
and of what thou didst endure to destroy our pride and 
save our souls. 

Eesume, page 395. 

Pilate, neither wishing to condemn Jesus, whom he 
knows • is innocent, nor daring, through fear of the 
Jews, to acquit him, sends him to Herod, king of 
Galilee. 

Let us contemplate our divine Savior, 

1. Led from the pretorium to Herod's palace. 

2. Appearing before the murderer of Saint John the 
Baptist. 

3. Keeping the most profound silence. 

4. Made the object of most humiliating mockery. 

5. Clothed with a white robe and treated as a fool. 
Jesus, eternal Wisdom, endures all these outrages! 
— And he endures them, 

1. Without complaining. 

2. Without losing his peace of soul. 

3. Without feeling resentment. 

4. Without any abatement of his charity, even for his 
enemies. 

5. Without ceasing to take pity on their souls and 
to pray for them. 

What a lesson for us who are so given to impatience ! 



TWENTY-EIGHTH MEDITATION 
JESUS SENT BACK BY HEROD TO PILATE 

Herod, with his soldiers, despised him, and mocked him, putting 
on him a white garment; and sent him back to Pilate. — 
Luke xxiii. 11. 

CONSIDERATION 

Notwithstanding his annoyance at the silence of 
Jesus and at his refusal to work miracles to gratify idle 
curiosity, and notwithstanding the calumnious accusa- 
tions of the Jews, Herod does not judge the Accused de- 
serving of death, but decides to send him back to Pilate. 
The chief priests are not at all pleased with this de- 
cision. Nevertheless, they conceal their vexation; they 
order their satellites to lead Jesus back to the pre- 
torium, while several of them hurry forward to preju- 
dice the governor against Jesus, and extort from him 
the sentence of death which he had refused to pronounce 
before. 

Clad in white, Jesus is again given over to the mercy 
of the cruel men who seek his death, and who mock 
his pains and sorrows. He goes forth from Herod's 
palace where he has been treated with the vilest con- 
tempt. For the fifth time since his arrest, he traverses 
the streets of Jerusalem, and allows himself to be led 
to the pretorium there to experience still greater suf- 
ferings. 

164 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 165 

^ Look upon him bound as a criminal, clad as a fool, 
abandoned to the mercy of shameless and pitiless sol- 
diers, surrounded by cruel enemies thirsting for his 
blood, accompanied by a vile rabble who continually 
load him with insult and abuse. 

Listen to the frantic cries which the wretched in- 
habitants of that ungrateful £ity raise against him who 
had wrought so many wonders before their eyes, and 
who had astonished them by his wisdom. Who can 
picture his sufferings during this painful journey! 
What insults and blasphemies assail his ears ! To what 
indignities is he not subjected! The crowd press 
around him, eager to insult him; they fill the streets 
and even cover the roofs of the houses whence he may 
be seen as he passes by. Many of the chief priests go 
about, seeking to stir up the hatred which hell has 
already kindled in every heart. The people of Jerusa- 
lem seem to have but one desire, the downfall and the 
death of Jesus Christ. 

"0 my people," might he have said with the prophet, 
"what have I done to thee?" 1 What could I have done 
for thy happiness that I have not done? Is this, then, 
what I ought to expect from thee? " Jerusalem, Jeru- 
salem, . . . how often would I have gathered together 
thy children as the hen gathereth her chickens under 
her wings !" 2 . . . And now these very children sur- 
round me like young vultures falling on the prey which 
their mother, the synagogue, has delivered to them ! 

These are the sentiments of the heart of Jesus, when 
he, the Light of the world, is rejected by. his people, dis- 
owned by those to whom he was sent, when the Word 
^licheas vi. 3. "Matt, xxiii. 37. 



166 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

of God is disgraced, buffeted, derided, treated as a 
criminal and a fool in the very city of Jerusalem, where 
he* had appeared full of peace and truth, manifesting 
infinite knowledge and infinite wisdom. 

Supreme Greatness, which, as Thomas a Kempis says, 
is concealed for our sakes, is exposed to the insults of 
an insolent mob. Sublime Mobility is publicly mocked 
by the lowest of the people. Sovereign Beauty, com- 
pared with which there is no beauty, is disfigured by 
degraded men. Divine Wisdom is treated with contempt 
by fools. The Source of graces and blessings is loaded 
with curses by the impious. Innocence itself is cruelly 
outraged by criminals. What a sorrowful, what an in- 
comprehensible sight! Is this, then, what was to be 
expected from the triumphal entry of our Savior into 
Jerusalem, five days before? He was then hailed as a 
prophet, as an ambassador of the Most High; now he 
is pitilessly insulted. Then his path was strewn with 
palms; now he is covered with mud. 

Listen to those prolonged shouts of laughter that 
echo around our adorable Master, that hooting that 
indicates the lowest degree of contempt, those con- 
fused cries amid which insulting epithets, sharp and 
cruel mockery may be distinguished. Do you now 
comprehend how much he suffers? 

Contemplate his deplorable state; see his weakness 
in his tottering steps, his sorrow in his dying eyes; 
enter into his heart, and ask if there be affliction like 
unto his ! But examine, also, if ever there was good- 
ness equal to his : for he does not curse his enemies, he 
does not repay outrage with outrage. On the con- 
trary, he prays for his executioners and offers up for 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 167 

their salvation the very pains which they make him 
suffer. 

APPLICATION 

faithful souls! who feel so keenly the insults 
heaped upon your divine Master, turn your eyes a 
moment from the scoffing, jeering crowd, and fix them 
on the persons who have remained faithful to him. 
Think of the anguish of his blessed Mother, of the 
grief of the disciples, of the desolation of the holy 
women who on the way to Calvary will soon publicly 
testify their loyalty to him. 

Doubtless, many of those who had believed in his 
divinity, still respect and venerate him, weep over the 
outrages which he endures, adore him in their hearts, 
and try the more to glorify him the more they see 
him humbled and loaded with ignominy. How sweet 
it is to a soul that loves Jesus to recall their disposi- 
tions, to think of the comfort which they gave him 
by their compassion and their homage! 

Let us weep over the conduct of the enemies of 
Jesus, and, by sincere adoration, make amends for all 
the outrages which he has received from men, but 
especially for those which he has received from us. 
Let us bewail our sins by which we condemn his laws 
and even his adorable person; for in sinning we imi- 
tate the Jews who insulted him whom the angels 
serve and adore. 

But we have yet other lessons to learn from this 
ignominious journey of Jesus through the streets of 
Jerusalem. How T forcibly it teaches us patience and 



168 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

humility! A prey to all contempt, he suffers without 
complaint; he even prays for his enemies. He thinks 
of his Church; he thinks of us for whom he merits 
the grace to follow him in the way of humiliation. 

How loudly, also, do the outrages offered to our 
divine Master proclaim the vanity of the praises and 
plaudits of men ! Five days ago he was acclaimed 
the Savior of the people by those who now treat him 
with the greatest contempt. Is there, then, anything 
more fleeting than the glory that comes from this 
world ? 

PEAYEE 

Jesus, who dost deserve the respect and the adora- 
tion of angels and men, accept my homage in repara- 
tion for the insults heaped upon thee in Jerusalem. I 
unite my adoration with that of thy holy Mother, and 
with that of all those who, remaining fathful to thee, 
deplore the crime and the misfortune of the Jews. 

Jesus, by that white garment, then the mark of 
contempt, but since the emblem of innocence, grant 
that I may preserve my soul in the state of holy purity 
which thou demandest of me. 

1 have contemplated thee, outraged, despised, cruelly 
mocked, and I have seen thee nevertheless remaining 
silent and praying for those who outrage thee. Oh ! 
grant that I may be thy worthy disciple; that, like 
thee, my divine Master, I may oppose only humility 
and patience to the contempt, the abuse and the mock- 
ery whereof I may be the object. This grace I ask of 
thee through the intercession of ' Mary, thy blessed 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 169 

Mother, whose most holy heart felt, through compas- 
sion, the counterpart of all thy sufferings. 

Besume, page 395. 

Jesus is sent back to Pilate by Herod. 
Let us contemplate our adorable Master : 

1. Clothed in a robe of ignominy. 

2. Brutally dragged out of the palace. 

3. Traversing for the fifth time the streets of Jeru- 
salem, and in a most pitiable state. 

4. Cruelly jeered by the chiefs of the nation. 

5. Insulted, treated as a fool by all the people. 
— Let us think, 

1. Of the sorrow of the most Blessed Virgin, who 
doubtless was not ignorant of these events. 

2. Of the sorrow of the disciples who still remained 
faithful. 

3. Of the grief of the holy women. 

4. Of the sentiments of the Heart of Jesus. 

5. Of our duties towards our divine Master, imitating 
his patience and humility, and repairing the outrages 
offered to him. 



TWENTY-NINTH MEDITATION 
JESUS PLACED ON A PAR WITH BARABBAS 

Whom will you that I release to you, Barabbas, or Jesus who is 
called Christ? — Matt, xxvii. 17. 

CONSIDEBATION 

Pilate was greatly displeased when he saw Jesus 
returning from Herod's palace; he knew the innocence 
of the Accused; but he knew also that, animated by 
a jealous hatred, the Jews would not relinquish their 
purpose of having him condemned to the death of the 
cross. Nevertheless, he did not yet despair of saving 
him. With that intent, he again declared him innocent, 
and reminded the people that in doing so he gave the 
same judgment as Herod, who had not treated him as 
one deserving of death. But the Jews persisted in their 
iniquitous demand. 

Then a new expedient occurred to him: he remem- 
bered that every year, on the paschal festival, the Jews 
asked and obtained the deliverance of a prisoner. With 
a view to induce them to ask for the release of Jesus, 
he placed him on a par with a man named Barabbas, 
who, being guilty of murder and all sorts of crime, 
must naturally have been an object of horror to the 
whole nation. Pilate, therefore, presented Jesus and 

170 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 171 

Barabbas to the Jews and asked them: "Which will 
you have of the two to be released unto you?" 1 

What a question on the part of a judge, a governor, 
a Boman praetor ! It is as though he said to them : 
Jesus, as I have judicially declared, is innocent; on 
the other hand, you know the crimes of Barabbas; you 
know he is a villain, a murderer, a disturber of the 
public peace, a man dangerous to you and to the whole 
nation. I leave it with you to decide ,which of the 
two I shall liberate. 

The people, who expected no such proposal, would 
doubtless have hesitated in their choice; but the chief 
priests and the ancients going about among them, 
excited them to ask for the deliverance of Barabbas and 
the condemnation of Jesus; and, to secure the popular 
vote, they cried out first, "Give us Barabbas : condemn 
Jesus." And the whole multitude repeated those horri- 
ble words: "Away with this man, and release unto us 
Barabbas!" 2 

Let us assist in spirit at this shameful spectacle. 
Let us behold Jesus reduced to the level of Barabbas, 
the descendant of David compared with a vile wretch, 
the Just by excellence ranked with a villain, the only 
Son of God, the eternal Word of the Father, the Splen- 
dor of his glory, treated as no more than a robber, an 
assassin, a seditious man, who, before being condemned, 
was already dead to civil society by the notoriety and 
infamy of his crimes! What injustice, what humilia- 
tion for our divine Savior ! 

Let us hear what he had said by the prophet Isaiah : 
"To whom have you likened me, and made me equal, 

"Matt, xxvii. 21. 2 Luke xxiii. 18. 



172 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

and compared me, and made me like?" 1 "I have 
brought up children and exalted them, but they have 
despised me." 2 They had to choose between life and 
death, and they have preferred death. 

matchless iniquity ! a son of Belial is preferred 
to the Son of God, a murderer to him who immolates 
himself to give us life ! Unhappy Jews, your request 
shall be granted! The conquering Lamb shall not 
reign over you, for his yoke is too sweet and his burden 
too light ! Your brow, branded with deicide, shall 
bear the mark of him whose children you declare 
yourselves to be; you shall have for chief him whom 
Barabbas represents, and who "was a murderer from 
the beginning." 3 Satan shall reign over you; he shall 
keep you in blindness till the end of ages, even as he 
does now when, disowning the Messiah, you prefer to 
him a wretch, a ruffian ! 

No ! Christ will not rule over you, fallen priests of 
Aaron, sacrilegious profaners of the holy unction! 
You have led into darkness those whom you were com- 
missioned to enlighten; you have ruined them and you 
have destroyed yourselves. Therefore your sacrifices 
and your worship shall cease, your temple shall be 
destroyed, and henceforth you shall only be ministers 
of error. 

But let us not confine our efforts to exciting in our 
hearts sentiments of just indignation; let us ask our- 
selves why Barabbas is thus preferred to Jesus. This 
choice is the effect not only of the perversity of the 
Jews, the envy of the chief priests, and the pride of 
the devil; it is still more the consequence of our sins. 

^sai. xlvi. 5. 2 Ibid. i. 2. 3 John viii. 44. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 173 

Yes, those are the weights that have borne down the 
balance on the side of Barabbas, the most contemptible 
of men, rather than on that of Jesus. 

But does not Barabbas, the condemned criminal who 
,can be liberated only on condition that our divine 
Savior is condemned, also represent mankind, which 
alas ! has become so criminal after the first sin, and 
which, once condemned to death, has no hope of safety 
but in Christ's immolation? On the side of Barabbas, 
all men are in reality arrayed, and on the other, thou 
alone, Jesus ! When Pilate says, "Whom shall I 
deliver?" thy Father addresses thee the same question; 
and thou, charitable Eedeemer, saving Victim, dost 
answer: "Not me, but Barabbas; not me, but men! 
Yes, let men be delivered, and let me be crucified for 
their sakes!" Lord! is it thus that a mystery of 
mercy is veiled under a mystery of iniquity? that what 
is an act of the most crying injustice on the part of 
thine enemies, is on thy part the work of infinite charity 
and unbounded generosity? 

APPLICATION 

What, then, should be our gratitude to our generous 
Eedeemer, who made himself accursed for us ! To 
deliver us from the death to which we were condemned, 
he gave himself up thereto: he preferred us wretched 
criminals to himself. prodigy of devotion! in- 
comprehensible charity! In the parallel which his 
mercy established between himself and us, it is we who 
have the advantage over him! 

Let us be persuaded, from the example of the Jews, 



174: MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION" 

that the passions lead us into error and warp our 
judgment; that under their influence., we prefer evil 
to good, error to truth, vice to virtue, Barabbas to 
Jesus ! 

We are justly indignant at the conduct of Pilate, 
who dares put Jesus on a par with Barabbas; we 
anathematize the Jews for their unjust choice ; but have 
we not reason to be indignant also with ourselves ? How 
many times have we not preferred the devil to Jesus? 
Do we not so act whenever we commit sin? Do we 
not then say : "Take Jesus from before my eyes ; I will 
not have him for king; I prefer the devil and the 
world?" 

Pilate did not know that Jesus Christ was God; the 
Jewish people were deluded by the chief priests: but 
we Christians, we religious, have not these miserable 
excuses; for we know that Jesus is our God, that the 
world and the devil are his enemies and ours, How, 
then, can we sufficiently deplore our sin in preferring 
the latter to him, in putting in one scale of the balance 
our own gratification, and in the other his adorable 
will, and alas! in so often sacrificing the latter to the 
former ? 

PKAYER 

It is to me, Lord, that thou dost address the 
reproach, "To whom hast thou likened me?" Alas ! I 
have very often instituted a parallel between thee, 
my sovereign Master, and a vile creature, between thy 
will and my own satisfaction. A thousand times have 
I hesitated between the false pleasure which is found 



OF OUK LORD JESUS CHRIST 175 

in sin, and the true sweetness which is experienced in 
thy service; between the gratification of the senses, and 
the accomplishment of thy holy laws; between the 
inspiration of the world and the devil, and the dictates 
of my conscience. I have hesitated ; and then — ah ! I 
dare not confess it, Lord ! — I have preferred my own 
gratification, I have preferred the world and the devil, 
to thee who art my God, my life, my hope, my only 
true happiness. 

Oh! pardon, Lord, pardon, this crying injustice, 
which I confess and deplore. Deign, I beseech thee, to 
enlighten me and direct me by thy grace, so that 
guided always by thy spirit of wisdom, I may never 
hesitate between good and evil, but dispose myself con- 
stantly and courageously to accomplish thy holy will. 

Eesume, page 396. 

Pilate is vexed at having Jesus brought again before 
his tribunal. In his anxiety to acquit him he conceives 
a new expedient. 

1. He is accustomed to release one prisoner every 
year at the choice of the people. 

2. He proposes to them to choose between Jesus and 
Barabbas. 

3. The people hesitate. 

4. But the chief priests incite the multitude. 

5. "Away with him !" they cry out, "and deliver to 
us Barabbas." 

— odious comparison ! iniquitous preference ! 
incomparable generosity of Jesus, who consents to 
die for us ! 

1. Let us adore him making himself a victim for us. 

2. Let us return him thanks for his infinite goodness. 
2. Let us check our passions, the source of so many 

errors. 

4. Let us carefully avoid sin. 



176 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

5. Let us consider that to sin is to prefer Barabbas 
to Jesus, for the sinner says: Give me honors, riches, 
and pleasures ; but away with Jesus ! Give me my satis- 1 
faction, and not that of Jesus. Let vice reign in my 
heart, but let Jesus stand without. What unworthy 
conduct ! 



THIRTIETH MEDITATION 
THE SCOURGING 

Pilate took Jesus and scourged him. — John xix. 1. 

CONSIDEKATION 

Though Pilate saw that the Jews had preferred the 
deliverance of Barabbas to that of Jesus, yet he wished 
to dissuade them from their unjust design. Neverthe- 
less, he dared not directly oppose them. He, therefore, 
devised a new expedient which appeared likely to 
satisfy their hatred, or at least to excite their pity: "I 
will chastise him, therefore, and let him go!" 1 — that 
is to say, although I am compelled to acknowledge him 
innocent, I will, nevertheless, scourge him; then I will 
present him to you, covered with blood and wounds, 
and, doubtless, you will no longer oppose my letting 
him go. 

barbarous and unjust compassion! what grief and 
confusion thou art going to bring upon the divine Lamb 
whom thou pretendest to save ! guilty and shameful 
weakness! What! thou knowest, Pilate, that Jesus 
is innocent, and thou causest him to be scourged? Is 
this expedient worthy of a Eoman prsetor, in presence 
of a mob who would fain wrest from thee an unjust 
sentence ? 

Meanwhile the order is given. It is to be executed 
*Luke xxiii. 22 

177 



178 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

with unheard of cruelty by Eoman soldiers. A Jewish 
court could not have inflicted more than forty blows; 
but the Eoman laws do not limit the number : all power 
is, therefore, given to the executioners. Furthermore, 
the motive for the scourging of Jesus tends to make 
them pitiless, since it is none other than to reduce him 
to a state capable of softening the hard hearts of his 
enemies ! 

Let us go in spirit to the court of the pretorium; let 
us behold our loving Savior, so fatigued as to be scarcely 
able to stand, yet walking between two lines of soldiers 
and exposed to the increasing contempt and derision 
of the people and the chiefs of the synagogue. He 
arrives at the place of torment and is stripped of his 
garments. He then draws near the pillar to which 
he is to be bound; he bows his head in shame, and 
allows his hands to be bound by the ignominious cords 
of the executioners. 

Great God ! what a spectacle ! How oppressed is the 
Christian heart at the contemplation of such a picture ! 
Jesus, the Holy of holies is thus humiliated and re- 
duced to the condition of a miserable slave about to 
receive punishment ! ye heavens, how could you shed 
your light on such a crime ! But behold ! the execu- 
tioners are preparing to execute the cruel sentence. 
Armed with flexible rods, with knotted cords, or with 
leathern thongs tipped with iron, they approach Jesus 
and begin to strike him. 

Christians, disciples of our Divine Savior! give 
ear, and, amid the cries and cruel acclamations of the 
Jews, hear the hissing of these cruel blows. The rods 
and whips furrow the sacred body of their Victim, 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 179 

which is soon horribly bruised and swollen. The skin 
is torn, the livid blood spouts from the wounds, the 
flesh is exposed, and from head to foot the divine body 
is covered with wounds. 

Nevertheless, the executioners do not stop; they re- 
open wounds already made; they rend the sinews of 
their Victim, burst his veins, tear his flesh, and lay 
bare his bones! The blood of the adorable Victim is 
shed profusely; it stains the pillar, flows on the floor, 
and is shamefully trampled on by the executioners. 
what heart would not be moved with the liveliest com- 
passion, what eyes would not shed bitter tears, at the 
contemplation of such woes, of such sufferings endured 
by the immaculate body of our Lord ! Shame and con- 
fusion overspread his face as he endures all these tortures 
and all kinds of sorrow ! 

And thus were the words of the royal prophet ful- 
filled: "My enemies live and are stronger than I: and 
they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied. . . . 
Thou knowest my reproach, and my confusion and 
shame. . . . There is no health in my flesh. . . . I 
am afflicted and humbled exceedingly. . . . My heart 
is troubled ; my strength hath left me. . . . The wicked 
have wrought upon my back : they have lengthened their 
iniquity." 1 

At this moment are also fulfilled the words of Isaiah : 
"There is no beauty in him, nor comeliness, and we 
have seen him: and there was no sightliness that we 
should be desirous of him; despised, and the most ab- 
ject of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with in- 
firmity, ... we esteemed him not, . . . We have 
^s. xxxvii. 20; lxviii. 20; xxxvii. 4, 9, 11; cxxviii. 3. 



180 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

thought him as it were a leper, and as one struck by 
God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our in- 
iquities, . . . and by his bruises we are healed/ 51 

APPLICATION 

This spectacle deeply moves you, Christian souls, and 
you would indeed be much to be pitied if you were in- 
sensible to it. But mere sentiment does not suffice: you 
must excite yourselves to the liveliest contrition for 
your faults. 

Alas ! the scourging of Jesus is less the act of Pilate 
who decrees it, and the soldiers who execute it, than of 
us, miserable sinners. This atrocious punishment is 
what we have deserved; it was for our iniquities that 
Christ was bruised. 2 It was to expiate our sensuality 
that he was virtually flayed alive. In his innocent 
flesh, the spotless Lamb suffered blows and bruises in 
order to atone for the sins of our guilty flesh, to merit 
for us the grace to subject it to the spirit and to 
chastise it by mortification, when it rebels like an un- 
ruly servant. 

Let us enter into the spirit of this mystery: let us 
detest sin, and thus show real compassion for Jesus 
in his scourging. Let us be truly grateful to our divine 
Savior for his ineffable goodness in substituting himself 
in our stead to undergo the punishment that we have 
deserved to receive from the devils in hell. Let us be 
filled with a salutary hatred of our bodies. In imita- 
tion of all holy penitents, let us mortify that sinful 
flesh which entices us to evil, and let us subject it to 
the spirit. 

^sai. liii. 2-5. Ubid. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 181 

Let us arm ourselves with patience in afflictions, 
trials, and sickness. What are our sorrows compared 
with the sorrows of our beloved Master ? What ! Shall 
we dare complain of privation, after considering him in 
the state in which he was shown to the people ? No ! 
that cannot be ; for we religious acknowledge him as our 
head, and our model; and we profess to bear the marks 
of the mortification of which he has given us the 
example, and the merits of which he applies to our 
souls. 

PRAYER 

spotless Lamb of God, Beloved of my soul, I 
cannot express what I feel as I behold thy inno- 
cent flesh ruthlessly mangled, thy veins torn open, 
thy blood shed, thy body covered with wounds. Be- 
hold these tears of compassion which I shed for thee. 
But they are also tears of regret; for when I reflect 
that it was I who struck thee, who gave thee wound 
after wound, I am heartbroken, I am covered with 
shame. 

Jesus, by the pains of thy scourging, forgive me; 
purify me in the saving bath of thy blood, and grant 
me to be so generous in thy service as to dread no 
pains, no privations, no sufferings ! What are they 
when compared to what thou hast endured for me ! 

And thou, Mary, chaste mother of holy love, de- 
liver my soul from every stain. Ask that favor of 
Jesus through the merits of his cruel scourging, and 
obtain for me the grace to be a mortified religious and 
a worthy imitator of thy divine Son. 



182 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

Eesume, page 396. 

Pilate wishing to satisfy the hatred of the Jews, 
ordered Jesus to be scourged. 

— Let us assist in spirit at this horrible punishment: 

1. Jesus is stripped and bound to a pillar. 

2. The executioners approach him and surround him. 

3. They strike him with rods and whips. 

4. They inflict new wounds upon the first. 

5. His blood streams from every pore, the ground is 
covered with it, the garments of the executioners are 
spattered with it, his body is but one wound ! 

— Who would not shed tears of compassion and re- 
gret at this spectacle ! 

1. Alas! it is we who are the executioners of Jesus. 

2. He expiates, in his most pure flesh, the impurities 
of our criminal flesh. 

3. He expiates in particular our sins of sensuality. 

4. Let us weep, then, for those of which we have 
been guilty. 

5. Let us never more commit them. 



THIRTY-FIRST MEDITATION 
JESUS IS CROWNED WITH THORNS 

md stripping him, they put a scarlet cloak about him; and, 
platting a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head. — 
Matt, xxvii. 28, 29. 

CONSIDEKATION 

Let us contemplate our divine Savior exhausted by his 
long and cruel scourging. He is covered from head to 
foot with bleeding wounds and livid bruises and is so 
exhausted from loss of blood that he is unable to stand. 
The executioners, tired of striking him., at length un- 
bind him. No longer fastened by cords to the pillar, 
the divine Victim falls to the ground, where, doubtless, 
he would have died if his divinity, coming to the aid of 
his humanity, had not given him new strength and al- 
lowed him to complete his career of suffering. griev- 
ous spectacle ! incomprehensible situation ! Under 
the blows of his own creatures the all-powerful God sinks 
to the ground which he has reddened with his blood, and 
becomes a subject of barbarous pleasure to his enemies ! 

At length he raises himself, though with a thousand 
pains. With tottering steps he goes to pick up his scat- 
tered garments and put them on. Alas! they are the 
only dressing that will be applied to his wounds ! And 
now, Pilate ! thou mayest present him to the Jews. 
If their hatred can be satisfied with anything short of 

183 



184 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

the death of Jesus, surely it will cease now ; for nothing 
but death can be conceived to add to such horrible tor- 
ments. 

Yes, human imagination could indeed go no further ; 
but the devil is more fruitful than man in barbarous in- 
ventions. It is he who inspires the enemies of Jesus: 
they will, therefore, find means to increase the suffering 
of the adorable Victim, and to follow up the scourging 
by another torture no less cruel. The emissaries of the 
chief priests remind the people and the soldiers, that 
Jesus had styled himself king, and that Pilate never 
mentioned him without giving him the title of "King 
of the Jews." They propose to make game of him, by 
making him a mock king and ridiculing his dignity in 
the most outrageous manner. 

The soldiers again brutally lay hold of Jesus, still 
"dumb as a lamb before his shearer ;"* they seat him on 
the broken shaft of a pillar, they throw over his shoul- 
ders an old purple rag for a royal mantle ; then they 
place in his right hand a reed for a sceptre, and begin to 
make show of paying him homage as courtiers are wont 
to do to their sovereign. Then, as the height of insult, 
and also as an aggravation of his sufferings, a soldier 
approaches him with a crown of thorns which he places 
on the Savior's head, amid shouts of laughter from all 
the spectators ! 

Then the mock salutes and the ironical acts of homage 
are renewed. The soldiers gather around Jesus, and, 
passing in succession before him, bend the knee, saying 
in derision, "Hail, King of the Jews !" 2 With one accord 
all treat him with such indignity as was never offered to 
^sai. liii. 7. 2 Matt. xxvii. 29. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 185 

the vilest of wretches. Some strike him violently in the 
face, others pluck his hair and beard; some spit upon 
him, others snatch the reed from him to drive the crown 
of thorns into his head, and thereby renew all his pains. 
What a spectacle to excite* our pity ! 

It is our divine Savior whom we contemplate seated 
on a stone, all covered with wounds from which the 
blood is streaming, wearing a purple rag on his shoul- 
ders, holding an ignominious reed in his hand, wearing 
on his adorable head the diadem wherewith the syna- 
gogue has crowned him. 1 His brow is pierced with thorns, 
his face covered with filthy spittle, and with blood which, 
flowing from his wounds, has trickled down over his 
dishevelled hair, reddened his eyebrows, and mingled 
with the tears on his furrowed cheeks ! His own Mother 
could scarcely recognize him! 

And you, Christian souls, do you recognize him now 
when he is draining the last drop of that chalice of 
grief and contempt, which is a thousand times more bit- 
ter than the passion itself? And yet, he is truly the 
adorable Son of the Father, the Image of his splendor, 
the sole object of his eternal delight, and like him, the 
very God ! Yes, it is Jesus, our beloved Savior, who is 
so treated and who suffers so much opprobrium for our 
sake ! 

Let us, then, fix our eyes on him, and understand 
the value he sets on us. It is for us, it is to restore 
to us the crown of glory which we had lost, that he 
deigned to wear the crown of thorns; it is to prevent 
Satan from ruling us with a sceptre of iron that he bore 
the mock sceptre of a reed. Yes ! the insults heaped 
KJant. iii. 11. 



186 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

upon him, the ignominy with which he was overwhelmed, 
were justly due to us, because of our crimes; and if he, 
in his infinite charity, had not taken them upon him to 
endure them in our place, we should have suffered them 
for all eternity. 

APPLICATION 

What sentiments should be ours while contemplating 
the mystery of the crowning with thorns ! How we 
should hate sin ! With what care we should avoid it ! 
Let us reflect that, to offend God, is to take the reed 
which Jesus held in his hand, and strike with it the 
horrible crown which our sins have already placed 
on his head. 

Let us not merely avoid sm; let us also strive to ac- 
quire the virtues of which Jesus gives us the example. 
Let us imitate his patience. We have seen him endure 
torments the very thought of which makes us shudder. 
He endured them without a murmur, remaining calm 
and patient on the ignominious throne on which he was 
seated, as if he took delight in his sufferings. 

Let us imitate his humility. With what ardor, with 
what zeal, should we not embrace the practice of this 
virtue ! In the scourging, Jesus expiated principally 
our sensuality. In the crowning with thorns, he atoned 
for our sins of pride and ambition, our vanity, our de- 
sire to wear the crown of the esteem of men. Can we, 
then, ever again aspire to be honored, after having con- 
sidered our Master and Model, a victim of the most 
shameful outrages, and the object of the greatest con- 
tempt ? 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 187 

Let us beware of imitating the Jews, who did not 
recognize their king under the insignia wherewith they 
had invested him. Let us, beneath that crown of thorns, 
beneath that bloody mantle, adore Jesus as the king of 
our hearts, and let us be submissive to all his commands. 
He had said: "My kingdom is not of this world." He 
now proves it by appearing the most despised of men. 
King of glory in eternity, it is his will to be in time 
only King of sorrows. 

PEAYEE 

thorn-crowned King of glory, I adore thee in the 
state of suffering and humiliation to which thou hast 
been reduced through love for me. I bless thee for that 
infinite generosity, which prompted thee to accept so 
much degradation in order to raise me up to thee. 

Thy sufferings excite my gratitude and my love; but 
they also afflict my soul. When I reflect that I have 
crowned thee with thorns, struck thee in the face, 
outraged thee and mocked thy royalty, — my heart is 
broken with sorrow, my face is covered with shame and 
I can only say : "Pardon, Jesus, pardon, I beg of thee 
even by the sorrows which I have caused thee, be merci- 
ful to me." 

Mary! pray for me, poor sinner, now that I ask 
pardon of thy Son ; and obtain for me the grace to pro- 
cure him as much glory as I have caused him contempt 
and humiliation. 

Eesume, Page 397. 

These cruel executioners of Jesus are not content with 
inflicting wounds and bruises upon him, but they cruelly 
mock him in his dignity of king. 



188 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

1. They make him sit on a mock throne. 

2. They throw a purple rag over his shoulders. 

3. They place in his hand a reed for sceptre. 

4. They put a crown of thorns upon his head. 

5. Then they pitilessly insult him, load him with all 
manner of outrages, snatch the reed from his hand and 
strike him upon the head. 

— But why does Jesus suffer so many pains and 
humiliations? It is, 

1. To atone for our pride and sensuality. 

2. To teach us humility and mortification. 

3. To preserve us from being made the sport of devils 
in hell. 

4. To lead us to patience by his example. 

5. To enable us to comprehend these words, "My 
kingdom is not of this world ;" and to teach us that, 
being King of glory in eternity, he appears in time only 
as King of sorrows. 



THIRTY-SECOND MEDITATION 
JESUS IS SHOWN TO THE PEOPLE 

Behold the man! — John xix. 5. 

CONSIDEEATION 

The passion of our Lord is but an ebb and flow of suf- 
fering and humiliation, of torture and ignominy for 
body and soul. After the bloody scourging followed the 
crowning with thorns, and after the crowning, came the 
shameful exposure of the Victim before the eyes of an 
insolent and inhuman populace. 

Pilate, seeing Jesus covered with blood and disfigured 
with wounds, thinks that he may now present him to 
the Jews, persuaded that, after seeing him in that state, 
they will pity him and ask for his release. He believes 
that this expedient, suggested by his weakness and his 
cruel compassion, cannot fail to succeed. He argues 
that it is to the people that he is going to present Jesus ; 
that they should be uninfluenced by envy or hatred, and 
should have no sentiments but those of affection and 
gratitude for one who has only done them so much good ; 
that probably they are eagerly awaiting the opportunity 
to manifest their feelings towards the Savior. Moreover, 
he remembers that a few days before when Jesus entered 
Jerusalem, they received him in triumph, and he hopes 
that, moved to compassion, they will now ask to have 

189 



190 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

him set free. Thus, counting on the pity and the grati- 
tude of the Jews, Pilate orders the Victim of his criminal 
weakness and the hatred of the chief priests, to be taken 
to a balcony whence he may be seen by the multitude 
that fills the street and besieges the palace. 

When Jesus arrives there, all eyes are fixed upon him. 
What man, indeed, could contemplate so harrowing a 
spectacle without shedding tears? Behold, people^ 
the Nazarene! He whose beauty and grace you 
admired, is now in the state in which the prophets saw 
him, without beauty or comeliness. 1 He appears as it 
were annihilated; his face is covered with blood, filth 
and spittle; his dishevelled hair hangs down upon his 
bruised shoulders. Shame and confusion are stamped 
on his brow; his features are changed; his countenance 
expresses only the anguish of a breaking heart ; his breast 
is torn with large and deep wounds ; his head is crowned 
with long sharp thorns which pierce to the bone, his 
whole body is like that of a leper in whom no soundness 
can be found. 

Consider, Israel, to what a state the new Samson 
has been reduced by the cruel Philistines to whom he 
has been delivered by the synagogue! See with what 
contempt he is overwhelmed. Behold that diadem, the 
sight of which makes us shudder, that purple rag where- 
with his nakedness is covered, that reed which he holds 
in his right hand : for these are the insignia of his roy- 
alty. Listen to the mockery to which he is subjected; 
mark the barbarous insults heaped upon him. Could 
human imagination of itself have pictured so many 
humiliations after so many sorrows ? 
^sai. liii. 2. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 191 

And knowest thou who he is who is placed before thine 
eyes? Dost thou see in him thy Friend, thy Protector, 
thy Father, the Messiah expected for four thousand 
years? The Jews do not acknowledge him to be even 
man ! All eyes are fixed on him ; but none are moist 
with tears of pity. With one accord the people cry: 
"Away with him, away with him ; crucify him I" 1 

Pilate, who sees the disposition of the Jews, cannot 
assent to so much barbarity ; he goes forward on the bal- 
cony, and wishing to recall the crowd to sentiments of 
humanity, pronounces in a loud voice those words of deep 
import, "Behold the man !" That is to say — Behold the 
state of him whom you have delivered unto me ! If, in 
styling himself King, he has excited your envy, in his 
present debasement he should awaken your pity. You 
can no longer hate him, since his sufferings and ig- 
nominy have now reached their height. 

But let us turn from that unhappy people, which, 
influenced by the princes of the synagogue, answers 
again with renewed rage : "Away with him ! away with 
him ; crucify him !" Let us reflect on the meaning of 
those mystic words, "Behold the man!" which Pilate 
utters, though he fails to comprehend the sublime truths 
which they express. 

"Behold the Man" who mysteriously represents fallen 
humanity. "Behold the Man" who expiates the sins of 
all men, the man who sacrifices himself to restore to us 
our former privileges. This is the state to which his 
love for us has reduced the Man-God. "Behold the 
model Man," to, whom the elect must be conformable ; 
"the new Man," with whom Christians must be clothed 
^ohn xix. 15. 



192 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

and whose livery they must wear,, to obtain mercy in this 
world and everlasting glory in the next. "Behold the 
Man" whom we must recognize, adore, and glorify as 
God. 

"Behold the man," says Pilate, and for more than 
eighteen centuries faith replies : "Behold the God who 
has saved mankind." "Behold the man," say the indif- 
ferent and the impious, speaking of Jesus; and the 
Church replies: "Behold the Man-God who, as he him- 
self declared to Caiphas, shall one day come in the 
clouds of heaven to judge the living and the dead, and 
to manifest himself to all as the only true God." 

APPLICATION 

And now, Christian souls, let us picture to ourselves 
the Father, showing us his divine Son in the state to 
which he has been reduced for our sakes, and saying to 
us : — " 'Behold the Man^ in whom I am well pleased, and 
whom you must try to resemble if you would please me. 
'Behold the Man^ who was bruised in his infirmity be- 
cause of your sins. His garments are red as the gar- 
ments of him who treads the wine-press; but they are 
red with his own blood which he freely sheds to effect 
your salvation, and to atone for your ceaseless infidelity. 
In reality, it is your pride which has crowned him with 
thorns, your ambition which has placed that mock scep- 
tre in his hand, your sensuality which has covered him 
with wounds, your human respect which overwhelms 
him with shame." 

Let us, Christians and religious, hear the voice of God 
the Father. Let us see in Jesus our Victim and our 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 193 

Model. Let us detest sin and take every means to avoid 
it. Let ns make ourselves like unto the new Man now 
shown to the world. 

"Behold the Man," to whose image we are to conform. 
Courage, then! Let us put on his livery, revolting 
though it appear to nature. Let us encircle our brow 
with his dolorous crown, accepting contempt and rebuke 
with resignation. Let us throw his bloody mantle over 
our shoulders, generously embracing the practices of 
mortification proper to our state. Let us take the sceptre 
of reed in our hands, humbly acknowledging that, of 
ourselves, we are nought but weakness and inconstancy. 
Happy shall we be if, at the hour of death, we may thus 
present ourselves before that "Man" who is the Supreme 
Judge of all men. He will know us by his own livery, 
and share with us his celestial royalty. 

PBAYEE 

Accept my homage, Jesus, King of kings, my Lord 
and my God. In vain would the wicked take from thee 
thy glory; in vain do they present thee with only a reed 
for thy sceptre, and a circle of thorns for thy crown. 
Thou shalt remain supreme Master of heaven and earth, 
sovereign Euler in time and eternity. 

my King and my Model, I beseech thee, by the pains 
which thou didst endure in thy passion, give me courage 
to become like unto thee by the practice of humility and 
mortification, so that, at the hour of my death, I may 
address with confidence to thy Father those words which 
we daily repeat: "I present myself then before thee, 
.... wholly covered with the precious blood of Jesus, 



194 MEDITATIONS OK THE PASSION* 

my Savior, beseeching thee to acknowledge me as his 
servant," and to make me share in his glory. 

Resume, page 397. 

Pilate, hoping to move the Jews to pity, shows them 
Jesus in the deplorable state to which he has been re- 
duced by the executioners. 

1. He has him brought out on a balcony. 

2. He goes there himself. 

3. He presents Jesus to the people crowned with 
thorns, covered with wounds, disfigured with blood ; and 
yet the multitude manifests no pity ! 

4. "Behold the man!" Pilate says to them. 

5. But the people answer only with the words, "Away 
with him ! Crucify him !" 

— Let us contemplate Jesus, the man of sorrows, and 
reflect on what he is in himself, and what he is in our 
regard. 

1. Behold the man, the Victim of our sins. 

2. Behold the man who sacrifices himself for man- 
kind. 

3. Behold the man by whom alone we can be saved. 

4. Behold the man who is the model of the predes- 
tined. 

5. Behold the man ! Behold the Man-God ! 



THIRTY-THIRD MEDITATION 

THE JEWS CONTINUE TO DEMAND THE 
DEATH OF JESUS 

They cried out the more saying : ' l Let him be crucified. ' ' 
Matt, xxvii. 23. 

CONSIDERATION 

Let us consider with horror the cruelty, blindness, and 
malice of the enemies of Jesus, and learn from their ex- 
ample how dangerous it is to yield to pride and envy. 
Pilate had thought that the sight of Jesus covered with 
wounds and bathed in blood would excite pity in every 
heart ; but he soon realized his mistake : for, the moment 
he presented him to the people saying, "Behold the 
man," the chief men of the nation cried out: "Crucify 
him ! crucify him !" 

Thus the cruel expedient of the weak governor was of 
no avail, for the passions are never appeased by a first 
gratification. Envy makes the heart insensible to mis- 
fortune, and closes it to pity, Man once started on the 
road to evil, will not stop until he reaches its very end. 
The hatred of the Jews is not satisfied by the scourging, 
the crowning with thorns, and the grievous insults that 
have been offered to our divine Savior ; it clamors for his 
death on the cross. "Crucify him ! crucify him," shouts 
the multitude, urged on by the chief priests. 

Pilate, thwarted once more in his attempt, says testily 
to the Jews; "Take him you, and crucify him; for I 

195 



196 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

find no cause in him." 1 He thus declares Jesus innocent 
of the crimes of which he had been accused and for 
which he had been delivered into his hands. But what 
avails that new declaration with people who seek the de- 
struction of Jesus, and who have already extorted so 
much from the weakness of a judge who publicly 
acknowledges the innocence of the accused ? 

Again repeating the pretended delinquency of the 
Savior on the score of religion, they invoke against him 
the law of Moses : "We have a law," say they to Pilate, 
"and according to the law he ought to die, because he 
made himself the Son of God." 2 hypocrites ! who ap- 
pear zealous for the law, whereas in violation of the law, 
you conspire the death of the Just One ! Yes, chief 
priests and ancients of the people, you have a law, but 
it is for you a dead letter, a sealed book : you no longer 
understand it. You recall it to condemn Jesus "who 
made himself the Son of God;" but does not the law 
give testimony of him ? Do you not read in it that the 
Messiah was to come with all the marks which Jesus 
bears ? You have a law, you say ; alas ! you do not 
appeal to it in order to submit to it. Sacrilegious pro- 
f aners ! you make use of it only to obtain your criminal 
ends. 

The Jews had hoped that Pilate, who was little ac- 
quainted with their law, would yield to their testimony 
and condemn Jesus for announcing himself the Son of 
God ; but that word, which, in their fury, escaped from 
them, well-nigh snatched from them their Victim. 
As soon as Pilate hears their new accusation, he be- 
comes more fearful than before. He perceives the divin- 
^ohn xix. 6. 2 Ibid. 7. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 197 

ity of the Accused, who is so different from all others^ 
who has manifested so much wisdom in the few words 
that he has spoken, who has shown himself so strong 
under affliction, and who has been mild even to his 
enemies. He has him brought in again, and asks him 
whence he is. But as Jesus makes no answer, the gover* 
nor says to him impatiently and threateningly : "Speak- 
est thou not to me? Knowest thou not that I have 
power to crucify thee, and I have power to release 
thee?" 1 

It is thus that Pilate speaks of the power vested in 
him; and nevertheless, by a guilty cowardice, he dares 
not use it in behalf of him whom he has found and de- 
clared innocent. But Jesus, wishing to give him a new 
lesson, reminds him, gently yet firmly, of the origin of 
that power : "Thou shouldst not have any power against 
me, unless it were given thee from above. Therefore, 
he that hath delivered me to thee hath the greater 
sin." 2 

What precious teachings are contained in this answer 
of our divine Master. The power of resisting him comes 
from above. Hence it is the most high God, who has 
deigned to give men power over himself. On his part, 
therefore, his immolation is a free act, inspired by his 
love for us and by his infinite generosity. 

In reminding Pilate of the origin of his power, Jesus 
teaches that authority and power to act are given to men 
to use only according to justice, and never as subserving 
the passions. In telling the Eoman governor that he is 
less guilty than those who delivered him up to judgment, 
he also lays down the grand principle, that they who are 
^ohn xix. 10. 2 Ibid. 11. 



198 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

more enlightened on the good to be done are the more 
criminal when they do evil. 

Pilate understands, to a certain extent, these sublime 
teachings, and would fain set Jesus free; but he is far 
from being influenced solely by love of truth and justice. 
Moreover, he fears to displease men, and it is through 
this very fear that the Jews are about to force him into 
granting what they ask: "If thou release this man," 
say they, "thou art not Caesar's friend; for whosoever 
maketh himself a king, speaketh against Caesar." 1 

These threats make a very deep impression on the 
weak governor. Yet he makes another attempt. Sitting 
on the seat of judgment, he presents Jesus to the people, 
and pronounces those mystic words, "Behold your King." 
But the Jews, refusing to acknowledge Jesus as their 
king, cry out : "Away with him, crucify him." 2 

Pilate again proclaims the Savior's royalty. "Shall 
I crucify your king?" "We have no king but Caesar," 3 
the chief priests reply. blindness and injustice of the 
Jews ! Not less cruel to themselves than to Jesus, they 
shall not have for king the Lamb of God whose authority 
they refuse to acknowledge ; but they shall be ruled with 
a rod of iron, then crushed by the very power to which 
they declare themselves subject. 

APPLICATION 

What profit may we not draw from this meditation ! 
And first, let us be persuaded that our passions can 
never be satisfied; that if they are not resisted, they 

Molm xix. 12. 2 Ibid. 14, 15. 

3 John xix. 15. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 199 

will draw us into the abyss of evil, incite us to say of 
Jesus, in the depths of our heart, the very words of 
the Jews to Pilate, "Away with him! crucify him!" 
They will separate us from him who alone is the Author 
of all good, and apart from whom we can expect only in- 
finite misery. 

Let us not imitate that cowardly governor who, yield- 
ing to human motives, dares not oppose the enemies of 
Jesus. Let us impose silence on our passions. This is al- 
ways possible by the grace of God. We are all free, and 
have received from above power to choose good or evil. 
Let us often reflect that we should make only a right 
use of this power; that is to say, that we should decide 
only in conformity with the prescriptions of the divine 
law, and not according to our unruly passions. Since 
we are religious and have received so much light to do 
good, let us act only from motives of faith ; let us never 
obey our vicious inclinations. How guilty we should be 
if we cherished sin in our hearts ! 

Let us pay homage to our divine Savior, who, to save 
us, gave power over himself to men. Let us love him, 
let us thank him for his infinite generosity, and renewing 
our consecration to him, give him, in return, all power 
over our hearts. 

PEAYEK 

Jesus, King of kings, accept the offering that I 
make to thee of my heart and all that is mine. Yes; 
my beloved Master, I belong to thee, and my sole 
desire is to testify this to thee by courageously strug- 
gling against my passions, and by constantly obeying 



200 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

thy holy law. Give me strength to carry out the resolu- 
tion which I now form, of being wholly thine, and of 
proving to thee by all my actions, that I really acknowl- 
edge thee for my Lord, my King, and my God ! 

Eesume, page 398. 

Let us meditate on the clamors of the Jews for the 
death of Jesus. 

1. Pilate says to them, "Behold the man!" but they 
cry out, "Let him be crucified I" 

2. Pilate refuses their demand. 

3. They persist, renewing their accusations. 

4. They threaten Pilate with the enmity of Caesar. 

5. "Shall I crucify your King?" he says to them. 
And they reply, "We have no king but Caesar !" 

— What instructions may we not derive from this 
meditation — 

Let us remember that, 

1. Jealousy tends to make us blind and brutal. 

2. It is of his own free-will that Jesus sacrifices 
himself: the power of Pilate over him comes from on 
high, and consequently from Christ himself. 

3. All authority comes from God. 

4. -Those who have more light to do good, are more 
guilty if they do evil. 

5. Every thing must be sacrificed to justice and 
charity. 



THIRTY-FOURTH MEDITATION 
JESUS IS CONDEMNED TO DEATH 

Jesus he delivered up to their will. — Luke xxiii. 25. 

CONSIDERATION 

Pilate, wishing to save Jesus from the cruelty of the 
Jews, proclaimed his innocence, caused him to be cruelly 
scourged, presented him in the most pitiable state to the 
people, and appealed to their generous feelings. But all 
these means, suggested as they were, by his criminal 
weakness, were ineffectual. The same death-cries are still 
heard. The seditious demand is enforced by the threat 
of denouncing the governor at the court of Csesar. 
Pilate is overcome ; he is about to yield to pressure from 
the chief priests and the ancients of the people. He is 
going to yield ! And yet what motives he has for still 
resisting, aye, for resisting even unto death ! Should 
he, a Roman governor, quail before sedition ? Can he as 
judge resolve to sign an unjust warrant, to declare de- 
serving of death him whom he has just declared inno- 
cent of all crime ? Moreover, has he not received several 
warnings from heaven? Has not his wife told him, 
"Have thou nothing to do with that just man T n And 
has he not himself perceived something of the divinity 
of the Accused, whose conduct is so extraordinary, so 
different from that of others? 

^att. xxvii. 19. 

201 



202 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

But these motives, all powerful as they ought to be, 
vanish before the fear of disgrace from Tiberius: the 
cowardly governor yields. Nevertheless he wishes to 
manifest by a ceremony in use among the Jews, that he 
throws upon them the responsibility of the judgment 
which they force from him. He causes water to be 
brought in a basin, and, washing his hands before the 
people, he says: "I am innocent of the blood of this 
just man; look you to it." 1 The Jews, however, disre- 
garding the warning and the declaration, cry out that 
they assume the whole responsibility of the condemna- 
tion which they are demanding. Let us hear them utter 
that imprecation which, standing alone in the annals of 
nations, is unequalled in the rigor of its fulfilment: 
"His blood be upon us, and upon our children !" 2 

Unhappy people ! what words have you uttered ? 
What ! a pagan trembles when about to condemn a just 
man, and you, adorers of the true God, shrink not from 
calling down on your own heads the divine vengeance 
merited by that condemnation! You think not that 
the blood that you are about to shed is the blood of a God, 
and that he who will avenge it, and whose wrath you 
provoke, is the Master of time, who disposes of the 
nations of the earth at will, and who has all eternity 
wherein to exercise his justice ! 

people, do you not fear to incur the fate of Cain, 
who, through envy, arose against his brother Abel, and 
killed him ? — the fate of Cain to whom God said : "What 
hast thou done? The voice of thy brother's blood crieth 
to me from the ea^th . . . cursed shalt thou be upon 
the earth ... a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou 
x Matt. xxvii. 24. 2 Ibid. 25. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 203 

be," 1 bearing on thy brow a sign whereby all men may 
know thee ? 

No ! the Jews do not foresee the woes which they are 
drawing down upon themselves. They are far from 
realizing that the utter ruin of their country shall follow 
the frightful words, "His blood be upon us, and upon 
our children !" 

Jesus on hearing this imprecation is overwhelmed with 
sorrow: he sees numberless calamities coming upon all 
Judea and especially on Jerusalem. He weeps anew 
over that ungrateful city and her children who, rejecting 
the salvation that he brought them, choose for their 
portion malediction and death. 

Pilate also hears this imprecation and shudders with 
horror ; but he takes advantage of it to excuse his weak- 
ness, and stifling the last cry of conscience, he orders 
the sentence which they demand, to be written out. He 
afterwards pronounces it; but, says St. Athanasius, he 
trembles while doing so, as if he himself were the accused 
and not the judge. "0 Pilate, prevaricating judge !" 
says St. Cyprian, "a time shall come when thy soul shall 
fall into the hands of him whom thou condemnest: he 
shall judge thy judgment, and punish thee for the wrong 
which thou hast done." 

The sentence is passed on Jesus. What a spectacle, 
Christian souls, is now presented to our eyes! The 
wicked have gained their end, and have caused the In- 
nocent One to be condemned to a most infamous death. 
The angels veil their faces on seeing the consummation 
of this greatest of all iniquities. Pious persons, who had 
cherished some hope that the love of justice manifested 
H^-en. iv. 10-12. 



204 MEDITATIONS OX THE PASSION 

by the governor would ultimately prevail, feel sad at 
heart and cruelly deceived. Hell is let loose on earth; 
the Just by excellence, the Holy One of God is treated 
as a criminal; the Author of life is judged worthy of 
death. 

Let us behold Jesus standing as a criminal, listening 
to the decree of death; let us behold the chief priests 
and the doctors of the law, exciting the people to ap- 
plause that is most humiliating to our divine Savior, 
felicitating themselves on having gained their end, and 
desiring nothing but the shedding of their Victim's 
blood on the sorrowful tree to which he is to be fas- 
tened. 

APPLICATION 

While contemplating Jesus sentenced to death* let us 
seek the true cause of his condemnation. We shall not 
find it in the warrant signed by Pilate, which expresses 
only a glorious title, that of "King of the Jews." But 
if we look into our own hearts, it is there we shall find 
it; for, alas! it is our sins that have caused that sen- 
tence to be pronounced on our adorable Master, accord- 
ing to the prophecy of Isaiah: "The Lord hath lair! 
on him the iniquity of us all . . : for the wickedness of 
my people have I struck him." 1 

Let us reflect that to deliver us from eternal death, 
Jesus willed to be condemned to the ignominious death 
of the cross. What then, ought to be our sentiments of 
gratitude towards him ! From the warrant issued 
against us, miserable sinners, he erases our name and 
^sai. liii. 6, 8. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 205 

inscribes his own: "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of 
the Jews!" 1 

We have contemplated our divine Master, hearing 
with the greatest resignation the iniquitous sentence of 
the governor! Let us, after his example, be patient 
and resigned when men condemn us and blame our 
conduct. It is often justly that we are rebuked, for, 
alas! we all have our faults. On such occasions let 
us bless God who wills that we be admonished, and let us 
labor to correct ourselves. If we were unjustly repri- 
manded, let us unite ourselves to Jesus, the thrice holy 
God, condemned to a most infamous death; and, like 
him, let us pray for those who persecute and calumniate 
us. 

PRAYER 

Jesus, although innocence itself and the source of 
all sanctity, thou art condemned to death, to the death of 
a malefactor ! But why, Lord, is so iniquitous a sen- 
tence passed upon thee ? Whence comes it that thou art 
judged unworthy to live even by him who proclaimed 
thee innocent? It is because my sins, wherewith thou 
art charged, have called down on thy head the maledic- 
tion which I have deserved ; it is because by an excess of 
infinite generosity, thou hast substituted thyself for me, 
to suffer the penalty of my crimes. It is, therefore, really 
on my account that thou art condemned; and, so this 
sentence, which redounds to the eternal dishonor of him 
who pronounced it, is indeed my work. what a sub- 
ject of shame and regret for me ! 

Why can I not, my Jesus, deplore with tears of 
Mohn xix. 19. 



206 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

blood my misfortune in offending God, and in thus 
necessitating either my condemnation to the pains of 
hell, or thine to the torment of the cross? Give me, I 
beseech thee, with the grace of true contrition, that of 
the most lively gratitude to thee, so that I may unceas- 
ingly bless and thank thee for thy sacrifice which is the 
ground of my salvation. 

Besume, page 398. 

Let us assist in spirit at the condemnation of Jesus, 
our adorable Victim. 

1. The Jews continue to cry out: "Crucify him!" 

2. Pilate yields to their barbarous demands. 

3. But he loudly proclaims that he will not assume 
responsibility for the sentence which he is about to 
pronounce. Washing his hands, he says : "I am innocent 
of the death of this just man." 

4. The Jews answer: "His blood be upon us, and 
upon our children!" 

5. Then the governor pronounces the sentence which 
condemns Jesus to the death of the cross. 

— Let us reflect, 

1. On the iniquity of the sentence. 

2. On the cruelty of those who demanded it. 

3. On the baseness of him who pronounced it. 

4. On the terrible malediction which the Jews thus 
called down upon their heads. 

5. But, above all, on the generosity of Jesus, who is 
condemned to death only because of our sins. 



THIRTY-FIFTH MEDITATION 
JESUS IS LOADED WITH HIS CROSS 

The government is upon his shoulder. — Isai. ix. 6. 

CONSIDEKATION 

Scarcely is the sentence of death pronounced when 
the soldiers who are charged with its execution lay hands 
on Jesus. They take away the purple mantle of his 
royalty wherewith they had clothed him in derision; 
then they array him in his ordinary garments that he 
may be more easily recognized when placed between the 
two thieves who are also led to execution. And Jesus, 
still patient and silent, allows himself to be in turn 
stripped and clothed; he utters no complaint, notwith- 
standing the pain and confusion that he feels. 

Christian souls, let us consider our beloved Savior 
abandoned to the will of his enemies. Neither law, nor 
human power, any longer prescribes limits to their 
cruelty ; there is no longer a heart to pity him ; each one 
seems to say : "Let us treat him as an infamous man, 
let us hasten to banish him from the earth — let him 
die !" 

Yes! chiefs of the synagogue, Jesus shall die, be- 
cause ihe present moment is yours; but cherish not the 
hope that his name shall be forgotten and his memory 
shall perish. He who told you, "This is your hour," has 
not given you the future ; he has even declared that in 

207 



208 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

the time of his divine vengeance he shall one day be seen 
in the clouds of heaven clothed in the might of his power 
and in the majesty of God. 

Meanwhile Jesus is brought out of the pretorium ; he 
is led to the cross on which he is to be immolated, and 
which he is condemned to carry to the summit of Cal- 
vary. Oh ! who can tell what he now suffers ? Let us 
reflect that he has taken neither rest nor food since 
he left the supper-room, that he has been for long hours 
a prey to all the inhumanity of an infuriated populace, 
that he has shed a great quantity of blood in the Garden 
of Olives and during the scourging; that he is covered 
with wounds and still crowned with thorns; that,' in con- 
sequence, he must be reduced to extreme weakness. He 
can hardly stand erect, and yet he is obliged to bear the 
crushing weight of his cross ! 

Let us contemplate him in presence of that instru- 
ment of ignominy and death, which our sins are to place 
on his shoulders. What repugnance! what horror it 
excites in his soul! Nevertheless, he approaches with 
resignation the cross on which he is to be immolated ; he 
regards it calnil} 7 , and accepts it with perfect submis- 
sion and even with joy, as being presented to him by his 
Father. He takes it in his arms, and, touching it, sanc- 
tifies it; he kisses it as the altar of the divine sacrifice 
which he is going to offer for us ; he clasps it to his breast 
as though to express how much he has desired it, and how 
greatly he esteems it; he bends under the dolorous bur- 
den, and lays it on his bruised and mangled shoulders ! 

Christian souls, let us reverently enter his sacred 
heart, and view the feelings that crowd upon it. On the 
one hand, Jesus is filled with horror and disgust at the 



OP OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 20D 

sight of the infamous wood whereon he is to die ; on the 
other hand he is filled with love and joy, and seems to 
say: I see thee, I touch thee, I at last possess thee, 
cross which I have so much desired, and which shall 
be the memorial of my love for men. From thee they 
shall learn how much I love them, and by what pains I 
have merited salvation for them ! And these sentiments 
of love, joy, and the desire of sacrificing himself for us, 
prevail. 

But while contemplating Jesus taking up his cross, let 
us reflect on what that mysterious wood is to the eyes 
of faith. The Cross is the standard of the Supreme 
Monarch, which shall be raised in the sight of all men, 
and around which all nations shall rally. It is the 
great ensign of the King of earth and heaven ; it is the 
sceptre by which he shall rule throughout the world, 
according to that saying of David, which the Church 
solemnly sings: "By the wood the Lord hath 
reigned." 1 

The Cross is the altar of the holocaust whereon the 
Saving Host shall be consumed; it is the wood which 
the God of Abraham has laid on the shoulders of the 
new Isaac, as he ascends the mountain of sacrifice; it 
is the precious candlestick whereon the Light of nations 
shall be exposed ; it is the tree that shall bear the Fruit 
of life and thus repair tha transgression of Adam and 
Eve in eating the fruit of death plucked from the tree 
of the knowledge of good and evil. 

The Cross, being the emblem of the trials and suffer- 
ings of life, encourages us to accept them with resigna- 
tion and bear them with patience; for it is by them 
1 Hymn, Vexilla regis 



210 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

principally that we make ourselves like unto the divine 
Crucified who is our Master and Model. 

The Cross is the Christian's book, wherein are writ- 
ten, in most eloquent language, the love, tenderness, and 
infinite generosity of Jesus towards us. The Cross is a 
monument of the omnipotence and the divinity of Jesus 
Christ : from an infamous instrument, it has become the 
sign of glory and triumph, the reward of heroic deeds, 
the ornament of the diadems of kings. Could its destiny 
have been thus changed, had not a God touched it with 
his sacred hands and sealed it with his blood? Much 
more will he do to glorify it ; for, on the last day, he will 
manifest it to all men, shining with the brilliancy of a 
star in the heavens. 

APPLICATION 

Let us, henceforth, pay homage to the Cross of our 
Savior; let us salute it with respect, let us kiss it with 
love and piety. Let us often read that sacred book, in 
order to learn how Jesus has loved us, and what our 
salvation has cost him. We shall thereby obtain the 
grace to lead a truly Christian life, and merit at the 
last day the happiness of contemplating that sacred wood 
which, on earth, has been the object of our pious 
homage and profound veneration. 

Let us accept the sufferings and trials of life with 
the greatest resignation and in union with Jesus loaded 
with his cross. Let us heed his exhortation to imitate 
his patience : "If any man will come after me, let him 
deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." 1 
a Matt. xvi. 24. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 211 

Let ns, in his holy presence, ask ourselves if we who 
make profession of imitating him have worthily an- 
swered his call. 

How do we receive the Cross ? Is it not with an exces- 
sive repugnance, which we fail to combat although we 
have supernatural motives which should induce us to ac- 
cept it with patience ? Do we not murmur against those 
from whom we receive it? Do we not cherish an inor- 
dinate desire of being delivered from it, or even of 
having another cross than that which we now carry? 
This does not become disciples of Jesus Christ. No, we 
must not fear to carry the cross; it opens the way to 
heaven ; in it are salvation and life. In the Cross, says 
the author of the Imitation, "is protection from enemies. 
In the Cross is infusion of heavenly sweetness; in the 
Cross is strength of mind; in the Cross is joy of spirit. 
In the Cross is height of virtue; in the Cross is perfec- 
tion of sanctity." 1 

PRAYER 

Jesus, may thy Cross speak eloquently to me of 
thy love for me ! May it persuade me to accept with pa- 
tience and resignation these troubles of life which are 
the crosses thou wouldst have me bear! Grant, my 
Savior, that, through love for thee, I may bear them 
courageously, and esteem myself happy in having 
through them some points of resemblance to thee. 

adorable cross, consecrated by the loving embrace of 
the only Son of God, infinitely precious wood, altar 
of his bloody sacrifice ! I salute and revere thee. Thou 
'Bk. ii. ch. xii. 2. 



£12 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

art my refuge and my only hope. It is through thee 
I hope to obtain of my adorable Savior the grace to 
imitate him in his sufferings, so that I may be one day 
inseparably united with him in glory. 

Kesume, page 399. 

How, without being deeply moved, can we consider 
our divine Savior laden with his cross? 

1. Jesus, crowned with thorns and covered with 
wounds, is conducted to the place where the cross awaits 
him. 

2. He regards it with resignation. 

3. He kisses it, for it is the altar of his sacrifice. 

4. He stoops and places it upon his bleeding and 
mangled shoulders. 

5. He offers to his Father all that he is about to suffer 
upon that painful and ignominious wood. 

— Entering into the spirit of this mystery, 

1. Let us adore Jesus laden with the instrument of 
his death. 

2. Let us reverently study the dispositions of his 
Heart, 

3. Let us truly venerate his cross. 

4. Let us accept with resignation all that we may 
have to suffer in this life of probation. 

5. Let us often ask of our Lord the grace to imitate 
him in his sufferings, that we may share in his glory. 



THIRTY-SIXTH MEDITATION 
JESUS CARRIES HIS CROSS 

They led him out to crucify him. — Mark xv. 20. 

CONSIDERATION" 

Who can comprehend the sufferings of Jesus bearing 
his cross ? Let us contemplate him, Christian souls, as 
he sets out on that mysterious journey, which is hence- 
forth to be called the Way of the Cross. The chiefs of 
the synagogue, who seek not only to put him to death, 
but also to ruin him in the estimation of the people, 
do all that their infernal jealousy dictates to increase 
his confusion and to expose him to the contempt of 
the spectators. Wherefore it is that Jesus is obliged to 
walk to the place of execution, in company with two 
criminals, in order that he may be considered a male- 
factor. 

what shame is felt by the Son of God, who is holi- 
ness itself, when he is presented to the eyes of all as 
the most guilty of men ! What a triumph for the devil 
and the Jews, who have no other end in view but to 
humble and degrade him! What joy for the chiefs of 
the synagogue who at last succeed in averting the af- 
fection of the multitude from him, and in exposing him 
to odium and contempt ! Their satisfaction is manifest 
in their countenances, and they take delight in loading 
our divine Savior with the most degrading and insult- 

213 



214 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

ing epithets. The people, imitating their chiefs, gather 
in crowds on the road to Calvary, and glory in adding 
to the tribute of insult and contempt paid the adorable 
Victim. 

Meanwhile the death-train advances: the lictors go 
before with mournful trumpets ; then come the soldiers, 
the priests, and the officers of the temple, and lastly 
the executioners. In the midst of them walks the 
divine Victim followed by several chiefs of the syna- 
gogue, who join the mob in uttering the most revolting 
blasphemy, and in loading with curses him who, having 
made himself accursed, is led out of Jerusalem to be 
immolated for the sins of all men. 1 

Let us give ear to those tumultuous shouts, to those 
insults offered to Jesus and his doctrine. Is it possible 
to imagine humiliation greater than that which he ex- 
periences? Now is accomplished that prophecy of 
David: "For thy sake I have borne reproach; shame 
hath covered my face. I am become a stranger to my 
brethren. . . . The reproaches of them that reproached 
thee are fallen upon me. . . . They that sat in the gate 
spoke against me; and they that drank wine made me 
their song." 2 

But this is not all that he endures while journeying 
from the pretorium to Calvary! His strength is ex- 
hausted, his body is covered with wounds; his mangled 
flesh seems to fall off in shreds ; the heavy cross where- 
with he is loaded rests on one great wound. Moreover, 
the crown of thorns still causes him the most excruciat- 
ing torments; for at every motion he makes it catches 
on the cross, renews the wounds in his adorable head, 
^eb. xiii. 12. 2 Ps. lxviii. 8-13. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 215 

and sends a thrill of anguish to the very marrow of 
his bones ! Everything in him reveals the excessive 
suffering that he endures : his eyes are languid, his lips 
livid, his features contracted, his mouth inflamed, his 
face bathed in sweat. -He might be tracked by the 
divine blood that, flowing from his wounds, falls to 
the ground, and is trodden under foot by a cruel and 
sacrilegious multitude. 

Who would not be penetrated with the liveliest com- 
passion, at seeing the God of all sanctity suffer so 
many pains ! Who would not melt into tears at the 
sight of the Victim of our salvation, bearing on his 
mangled shoulder the wood of his sacrifice ! Let us 
remember, Christian souls, that he whom we contem- 
plate dragged to a most infamous torture, is the divine 
Word, the perfect Image of the Father, the object of 
his eternal delight, the Messiah promised to the earth, 
the Eedeemer of mankind, the Son of promise in whom 
all nations shall be blessed, 1 but whom his own nation 
at this moment repudiates, the Heir who, sent by the 
master of the vine3^ard to demand fruit of the husband- 
men, is cast out, robbed of his inheritance, 2 and put to 
death. 

In the eyes of men who judge only by the exterior, 
Jesus is a criminal going to the place of execution; in 
the eyes of the angels, he is the universal Pontiff and 
the Victim of salvation entering into the sanctuary, 
and offering up his blood to efface the sins of the world. 
Apparently, he is only a criminal capable of inspiring 
nothing but horror and disgust; in reality, he is the 
sovereign Master of heaven and earth, who at this very 
^en. xxii. 18. 2 Matt. xxi. 38. 



216 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

moment gives lessons of the most sublime wisdom, and 
calls an infinite number of disciples who, like St. Paul/ 
will glory in the humiliation of the Cross. 

The Savior walks on surrounded by a multitude of 
fierce men, who seem to be animated by the fury of 
devils ; but he is also accompanied by angels who form 
a guard of honor and endeavor to repair, by their pro- 
found adoration, the outrages inflicted on his adorable 
person. 

APPLICATION 

Let us Christians, disciples of that suffering God, 
not content ourselves with deploring the crime of that 
lawless multitude; but, in union with the angels who 
accompany him, let us prostrate ourselves in his pres- 
ence and adore him. Let us, by our sincere homage, 
make him honorable amends for all that he suffered 
from his enemies, in his journey from the pretorium 
to Calvary. 

Let us ask our adorable Master, why he suffers, 
and we shall learn from him that it is to merit for 
us the grace of salvation, to snatch us from the 
power of hell, to make us understand how great an 
evil sin must be, since it has caused him so many sor- 
rows. 

Let us hear him repeat: "If thou wilt come after 
me, take up thy cross and follow me." Let us accept 
that divine invitation. Let us carry our cross courage- 
ously after our Master, bearing it with faith, patience, 
and resignation, and thus we shall become like unto 
a Gal. vi. 14. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 217 

that New Man to whom all the elect must be con- 
formed. 1 

Let us always make the Way of the Cross with piety 
and attention. How touching indeed, is the practice 
of the faithful of all countries and of all times, follow- 
ing in spirit the bloody footsteps of Jesus in his sor- 
rowful journey, stopping as often as he stopped, 
meditating on his sublime teachings, weeping with him 
over the misfortune of sinners, and exciting themselves, 
by the consideration of his numberless sufferings, to 
patience and resignation in the trials of this life ! 

how dear to us should be this holy exercise! 
Mary, our heavenly Mother, first taught it by her 
example ; the Church enriched it with the most precious 
indulgences; and, after devotion to the Holy Eucharist, 
none is more proper to confirm us in piety, to encourage 
us in good, and to strengthen us against the attacks of 
the devil. 

PEAYEK 

Jesus, divine Lamb, whom I contemplate going 
forth from Jerusalem, "loaded with the cross of our 
sins and the curses of the people," I acknowledge and 
adore thee as my Savior and my only hope. holy 
Victim, suffer me not only to follow thee in thy painful 
journey from the pretorium to Calvary, and to weep 
for my sins which are the true cause of thy sorrows, but 
also to praise, exalt, and bless thee, and thus repair 
the insults heaped upon thee by the crowd that accom- 
panies thee. 

"Bom. viii. 29. 



218 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

Give me, Lord, grace to enter into the spirit of 
the mysteries whereon I meditate when I have the 
happiness of making the Way of the Cross. Grant that 
the contemplation of what thou hast endured for me 
may inflame my heart with the most ardent charity, 
and render me patient and resigned in all the tribula- 
tions which it may please thee to send me in this life ! 

Kesume, page 399. 

Jesus, bearing his cross, journeys to Calvary. 
What humiliation, what suffering he endures ! 

1. He is accompanied by two thieves, and escorted by 
his executioners. 

2. He is mocked, insulted, blasphemed. 

Z\ His cross is heavy, overwhelming him. 

4. It bears down upon his bruised and wounded 
shoulders. 

5. Every step causes him inexpressible pain; his foot- 
prints are stained with blood. 

— Behold, to what a state he whom the angels adore 
is reduced by our sins! 

1. Let us adore him in union with these blessed 
spirits. 

2. Let us make him reparation for all that he suffers 
from his enemies. 

3. Let us weep for our sins, for they are the cause 
of his sufferings. 

4. Let us love the Way of the Cross, and make it 
with sentiments of true piety. 

5. Let us suffer with resignation the pains of this 
life. Let us ask that grace of Jesus carrying his cross. 



THIKTY-SEVENTH MEDITATION 

JESUS FALLS UNDER THE WEIGHT OF 
HIS CROSS 

The Lord hath laid on him the iniquities of us all. — Isai. liii. 6. 

CONSIDEKATIOlsr 

Let us contemplate our divine Savior journeying 
painfully along the way to Calvary, and leaving bloody 
footprints after him. Let us recall to mind all that 
he has suffered, the cruel and odious manner in which 
he has been treated, how he was taken from Gethsemane 
to Jerusalem, then from one tribunal to another. Let 
us remember his agony .in the Garden of Olives, his 
bloody sweat, his scourging, and his crowning with 
thorns. Let us reflect that since the previous evening, 
he has not had the least nourishment, and let us try to 
estimate the state of weakness to which he must now 
be reduced. His strength is exhausted; he is, as it 
were, dying, nay, he would, in fact, be already dead, 
had he not, by a miracle, retained the feeble breath of 
life which alone seems yet to animate him. 

And yet he must climb the hill of Calvary, bearing 
on his shoulder the wood on which he is to be immo- 
lated. It is with this burden that his enemies have 
loaded him; but they now urge him on, impatient as 
they are to see him die. He ascends Calvary very 
slowly. Hence the executioners wax wroth, and, to 

219 



220 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

hasten his steps, some drag him, others push him, all 
torment him with brutal insolence. Alas ! he cannot 
gratify their wishes. His progress becomes more and 
more painful; every step forward causes him the 
keenest suffering. Soon his knees bend beneath him; 
his strength utterly fails him, and he falls under the 
weight of his cross. 

Let us contemplate him prone on the ground, crushed 
by his heavy burden, and surrounded by an inhuman 
crowd that gloats over his sufferings. 

Who can conceive what he now suffers ? His mangled 
body sustains, as he falls, a horrible shock which re- 
opens every wound. His lacerated arms and knees are 
again more cruelly torn owing to the violence with 
which he strikes the ground, against which his head is 
pressed by the weight of the cross, so that the thorns 
encircling his brow are driven farther in. 

Although he lies in a dying state on the road, no one 
draws near to assist him. His enemies are so far from 
pitying him that they look upon his fall as only another 
occasion for renewing the insults and outrages where- 
with they have loaded him ever since he has fallen in 
their hands. They beat him cruelly and insult him 
vilely, compelling him to rise. God, what a sight! 
Who can look upon it without shedding tears of com- 
passion! Let us, then, shed abundant tears of pity, 
and thus testify the part that we take in the sufferings 
of our beloved Lord, who sacrifices himself for us. 

Let us behold him trying to rise : he turns, and, sup- 
porting himself with his hands, rises first to his knees, 
and then to his feet. Bending then under his heavy 
burden, he journeys toward Calvary, where, alas ! he 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 221 

is to arrive only after several other falls, which torture 
him no less than that which we have been considering. 
But let us here make some reflections in keeping with 
the spirit of this mystery. 

Jesus falls under the weight of his cross: what a 
subject of wonder ! He who sustains worlds by his all- 
powerful will, — he whom the prophets called the "most 
high Lord/ 51 "Wonderful," "God the Mighty/' 2 seems 
to be the weakest and most miserable *of men! 
Jesus, art thou not the true Samson ? Is not thy cross, 
as Isaiah foretold, the sign of thy power? How, then, 
has it become a burden which thou art not able to 
bear? I hear thee answer that thou dost fall not so 
much under the weight of that cross of wood, as under 
that of the penalties of which it is the symbol, and 
by which, at this moment, thou art utterly over- 
whelmed. 

Jesus sees the justice of his Father who now exer- 
cises all his severity on him ; he sees the sins of all men 
with which he is charged; he beholds that deluge of 
iniquity which began with the disobedience of Adam 
and Eve, and which will continue to the end of ages. 
He reflects that although he is about to die for all 
men, yet a multitude of them, in their perversity, will 
fail to profit by his sacrifice, and will be lost for all 
eternity. He sees also the negligence, the indifference, 
and the apathy of so many souls who, although favored 
with most precious graces, will, nevertheless, not cor- 
respond to his designs upon them, and instead of serv- 
ing him with increasing fervor, will languish in dreary 
tepidity. All this oppresses his soul much more heavily 
x Ps. xcvi. 9. -Isai. ix. 6. 



222 MEDITATIONS OX THE PASSION 

than the instrument of his execution weighs down his 
body. 

APPLICATION 

Let us be deeply convinced that our sins have over- 
whelmed Jesus, and, according to the expression of the 
prophet, pushed him, and overturned him that he might 
fall. 1 Let us, then, weep over them, and with the 
tears of compassion which we shed for the Victim of 
our salvation, let us mingle tears of true repentance. 

Let us never more yield to sin : to act otherwise would 
be to overwhelm the heart of Jesus with sorrow, to add 
to the weight of his cross, and to join his executioners 
in heaping the most cruel outrages upon his person. 
Let us henceforth be on our guard against those fatal 
falls which deliver us into the power of the devils. 
Should we chance to fall, let us arise immediately; 
Jesus has merited this grace for us, together with that 
of walking with courage and confidence in the way that 
leads to heaven. 

Let us enter on this path after him, and resolve to 
quit it no more. Doubtless, the enemy of all good will 
attack us fiercely ; but by the merits of the cross we shall 
overcome him. Should we chance to fall under his 
blows, let us have recourse to Jesus, and arise at once. 
Our divine Savior fell three times on the way to Cal- 
vary; thereby teaching us that, whatever may be the 
number and the grievousness of our falls, we must not 
be discouraged, since his mercy is boundless and the 
merits of his sacrifice are infinite. ■ 

Jesus, falling under the weight of his cross, also 
1 Ps. cxvii. 13. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 223 

teaches us a sublime lesson of patience and resignation. 
For lie bears without anger, even without a murmur 
the insolent abuse of his executioners; he loves with a 
divine love even those who strike the most cruel blows, 
and he offers his sufferings to God the Father for them 
as for all other men. What an example ! Let us often 
recall it, and let the recollection of it comfort us in 
adversity, and strengthen us to bear all the contra- 
dictions and miseries of this life. 

The cross which we have to bear is made up of our 
trials. Let us, then, not dread it ; for there is no escape 
from it. Let us take it up in union with Jesus Christ, 
and we shall receive that strength which he has merited 
by his passion, both for us, and for so many martyrs 
and confessors of the faith, who found in sufferings and 
death not a subject of dread, but a source of true con- 
solation and of ineffable joy. 

PRAYER 

I have contemplated thee, Jesus, falling under 
the weight of thy cross, and thou hast made me under- 
stand that my sins were the cause of thy fall. Grant, 
I beseech thee, that I may bewail them sincerely, that 
I may do real penance for them, and never commit 
them more. I ask this of thee through the merits of 
thy carrying of the cross, and through the intercession 
of thy holy Mother, who so tenderly compassionates thy 
sufferings. 

Kesume, page 400. 

Let us contemplate Jesus following the way to Cal- 
vary : 

1. He advances slowly. 



224 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

2. Being exhausted., he walks with the greatest pain. 

3. He soon begins to stagger. 

4. Then he falls under the crushing weight of the 
cross. 

5. Behold him rising and again burdening himself 
with the instrument of his torture. 

— What reflections this picture should suggest to our 
piety ! 

1. The all-powerful God falls from sheer weakness. 

2. He is overwhelmed by the weight of his cross. 

3. But he falls rather under the weight of our sins. 
. . . How heartily then, should we detest them! 

4. Jesus falls, but his persecutors cease not to insult 
him; yet he bears with them. He pardons them and 
prays for them. 

5. What an example! Do we imitate him? 



THIRTY-EIGHTH MEDITATION 
JESUS MEETS HIS BLESSED MOTHER 

And thy own soul a sword shall pierce. — Luke ii. 35. 

CONSIDEKATIOW 

When Mary is informed by the apostles of the arrest 
of Jesus in the Garden of Olives, she realizes that the 
moment has come for the fulfillment of the prophecies 
relating to the Messiah, and consequently, of that which 
the holy old man Simeon, addressed to herself: "Thy 
own soul a sword shall pierce." Wishing, then, to know 
more particularly what was taking place, she hastens 
in the morning to her divine Son, to assist him as far 
as she can, or, at least, to console him in his sufferings. 
She would doubtless have gone into the palace of 
Caiphas, into that of Herod, even into the pretorium, 
had she not been prevented by the crowd. In the opin- 
ion of several Fathers, she could see Jesus when he 
was presented by Pilate to the Jews in his bloody in- 
signia of mock royalty ; she heard the cry of the people, 
"Let him die; crucify him;" and also the sentence 
which condemned him to the death of the cross. What 
trials afflict her spirit! What anguish pierces her 
heart ! What tears gush from her eyes ! 

Soon Jesus goes forth from the pretorium bearing 
his cross, and Mary hastens to gain such a position as 
will enable her to see him as he passes. Meanwhile our 

225 



226 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

divine Savior advances on his sorrowful way; he is a 
prey to the insults and maledictions of a whole nation; 
his heart is utterly desolate. He looks through the 
crowd for even the faintest sign of pity; but, seeing 
only hatred and inhumanity, he says ; "I looked for 
one that would grieve together with me, but there was 
none ; and for one that would comfort me, and I found 
none." 1 

Nay, Lord ! thou shalt not bear thy divine sorrows 
alone; the heart of thy most holy Mother is too closely 
bound up with thine not to feel every torment that is 
inflicted on thee. She, then, compassionates thy suffer- 
ings, and in her person, the entire Church grieves for 
thee. 

But see ! the dismal procession approaches the place 
where she is standing. Soon the lictors who open the 
march pass before her; the soldiers follow, then some 
of the chief priests and officers of the temple, — all 
blaspheming against Jesus. But she heeds them not; 
her tearful eyes wandering over the ascending crowd 
seek another object, and all at once are fixed. 

what a sorrowful spectacle for Mary ! She be- 
holds her adorable Son, his strength exhausted, his 
countenance disfigured with blows and bedaubed with 
spittle, dust and blood, his brow crowned with thorns, 
and his neck bound with a rope. She sees him between 
two ruffians, as he walks painfully along under the 
burden of his instrument of torture, blasphemed by the 
people, and ill-treated by the soldiers ! Who can con- 
ceive the torments which she suffers? They are meas- 
ured by her love for Jesus, and that love is unbounded. 
x Ps. lxviii. 21. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 227 

At this moment Mary bears in her heart the cross 
which Jesus bears on his shoulder. She is overwhelmed 
with grief and anguish. The horrible sufferings of her 
divine Son rend her soul, and inflict on her a most 
cruel martyrdom, or rather all martyrdoms together. 
tender Mother! how can we explain otherwise than 
by miracle, that thou didst not die while contemplating 
the terrible spectacle that meets thine eyes ! 

Meanw x hile Jesus has reached the spot where his 
divine Mother awaits him. He looks upon her; what 
a heart-rending sight, what a subject of pain for his 
adorable heart! He sees his beloved Mother plunged 
on his account in an ocean of grief. The weight of his 
cross, the wounds made by the crown of thorns and 
those inflicted by the scourges — all these are most acute; 
but the sight of his sorrowing Mother is the keenest of 
all his sufferings. 

He would like to offer her at least some words of 
consolation; but the brutal fury of the Jews allows him 
no pause. Mary on her -part longs to give him some 
token of love, to press him to her heart, to wipe his 
face, to take his cross and carry it herself; but she is 
not suffered to go near Jesus, as he moves forward with 
his tearful eyes fixed on her. 

Who can describe the mystery of that sorrowful meet- 
ing and of those looks of mutual compassion? Jesus 
suffers on seeing the desolation of Mary, and Mary, on 
seeing the sufferings of Jesus. And so in this mute 
interchange of love, the Son and the Mother experience 
the greatest affliction. Mary feels through compassion 
all the sufferings of Jesus, while the sufferings of Jesus 
are increased by those of Mary: there is, therefore, in 



228 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

both a continual increase of sufferings, which ceases 
only when the divine Mother of the Savior has suf- 
fered in her soul all that she is capable of enduring. 
Let us contemplate Mary following Jesus as he bears 
his cross up the hill of Calvary, and watering with her 
tears the bloody footprints which lead her to the place 
where he is to be immolated. Mary, most desolate 
of mothers ! thou art the Queen of martyrs. Greater 
affliction than thine we cannot conceive; for never can 
any other creature say with so much truth: "0 all ye 
that pass by the way, attend, and see if there be any 
sorrow like to my sorrow!" 1 

APPLICATION 

Let us not be content with mere compassion for 
Mary; let us ask ourselves why she who never sinned, 
had to suffer, — why Jesus did not remove from the 
lips of his most holy and immaculate Mother, the 
chalice which he himself could hardly drink. 

It is because, being united most intimately with her 
Son, she could not but share his sufferings, and feel 
them as her own. It is because being more faithful to 
grace than any other creature, she was the first to 
respond to that call which Jesus made to all, to take 
up their cross and follow him. It is also because being 
co-redemptrix of men, she was to suffer for our sins 
with the adorable Victim who took them upon him. 
Moreover, "the Man of sorrows" being the model of 
the elect, it was fitting that she who was the most 
perfect copy of that model, should also be called "the 
Mother of sorrows." It is, also, because Mary on this 
lament, i. 12. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 229 

occasion represented the Church, and the Church was 
to be associated with Jesus in his sufferings. 

Let us dwell on the thought that Mary suffered on 
account of our sins. Yes, it is we who, in committing 
them, laid sacrilegious hands on her beloved Son, dis- 
figured him, struck him, and tormented him. It is we 
who placed the crown of thorns upon his head, loaded 
him with the infamous cross, and presented him in that 
dolorous state to her maternal eyes! How cruel we 
have been to our sweet Savior and his divine Mother !. 
Let us then, weep over our sins, and be firmly resolved 
never more to commit them. 

Let us do penance for all the sins of our past life, 
and in that view, let us follow Jesus bearing' his cross, 
and follow him with resignation, courage, and love, 
notwithstanding the repugnance that we may feel. Let 
us often, at least in spirit, make the Way of the Cross 
in union with Mary traversing the road to Calvary; 
like her, let us with our whole heart compassionate 
Jesus in his sufferings. 

Let us ask the assistance of Mary for poor sinners, 
who are also her children, and who, alas ! present them- 
selves before her burdened with the weight of their 
transgressions, bound by their evil habits, horribly dis- 
figured by sin, and surrounded by devils. Let us pray 
her to obtain their deliverance. Let us pray to her 
also for ourselves, for we also are her children, and 
we, too, follow painfully in the footsteps of Jesus. 

PEAYER 

Mary, remember that thou art our mother, and 
look upon thy children who follow Jesus along the way 



230 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

to Calvary. Behold our weakness, our exhaustion, and 
our sufferings; be moved by our piteous state, dear 
mother, and follow the dictates of thy compassionate 
heart. Come to our aid; thou canst do so, Mary, for 
there is none to keep thee from holding out a helping 
hand to us. obtain for us the grace to answer most 
faithfully the call of thy divine Son, and follow him 
even unto death. 

Eesume, page 400. 

Behold the hour in which the prophecy of Simeon is 
accomplished. 

Mary, who doubtless had observed her divine Son in 
the different phases of his passion, learns that they are 
conducting him to Calvary. 

1. She wishes to accompany him, she makes her way 
through the crowd. 

2. The soldiers prevent her from approaching Him. 

3. She places herself where she can see Jesus. 

4. As she beholds him, what are the sentiments of her 
maternal heart? 

5. What are those of the heart of Jesus ? 

— But why is it that Mary, the holiest of creatures, 
suffers, and suffers so much ? It is because : 

1. Being intimately united to her divine Son, she 
must of necessity share his sorrows. 

2. She was to be the first to obey the call of Jesus 
for all to carry the cross after him. 

3. She was to co-operate with Christ in the redemp- 
tion of mankind. 

4. She was to be the most perfect image of Jesus, the 
Man of sorrows. 

5. She represented the Church; and the Church was 
to be associated with her divine Spouse in his sufferings. 



THIRTY-NINTH MEDITATION 

SIMON OF CYRENE ASSISTS JESUS TO CARRY 
HIS CROSS 

They found a man of Cyrene named Simon; him they forced 
to take up his cross. — Matt, xxvii. 32. 

CONSIDERATION 

The Jews, having seen Jesus fall from weakness, 
while ascending Mount Calvary, feared, says Denis the 
Carthusian, that he might die on the way, and thus 
deprive them of the barbarous pleasure of witnessing 
his death on the cross. Wherefore, not to relieve his 
pain, but rather to prolong it, they stopped a man of 
Cyrene who was passing that way on his returning from 
the fields and compelled him to carry the cross after 
the Savior. How fruitful in salutary instruction is not 
this circumstance, which is mentioned in the holy 
Gospel ! While every detail here seems to be the effect of 
chance, yet in reality it has been preordained by divine 
Wisdom. 

Jesus would have a stranger assist him in carrying 
his cross. That stranger represented the Gentiles who 
were to embrace the true religion. It is, therefore, all of 
us who, in the person of the Cyrenean, are called to take 
part in the sufferings of Jesus Christ, to bear the cross 
with him, to apply to ourselves the merits of his sacrifice 
by filling up in ourselves that which, according to St. 

231 



232 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION" 

Paul, is wanting, in his passion. 1 Our redemption can 
not be effected without ourselves. As members of Jesus 
Christ, we must suffer with our Head. Let us realize this 
thoroughly and accept with resignation, nay even with 
joy, the share which he wills us to take in his passion. 
Our God has gone before us in the way of suffering. 
He has ennobled the cross by taking it in his divine 
hands and carrying it on his shoulder; he has thereby 
ennobled all the pains and afflictions of life, of which 
the cross is the symbol. Should not we then learn the 
lesson not only of bearing our trials patiently but even 
of glorying in suffering? 

The meeting with Simon the Cyrenean took place 
when Jesus had traversed the greater part of the way 
and was already within a few paces of the summit of 
Calvary. This teaches us that our share in the sufferings 
of our Eedeemer is very small in comparison with the 
portion which he keeps for himself. Indeed, he has 
reserved for himself the greatest pains, asking from us 
only so much as will enable us to share in the merits of 
his sacrifice. 

Although the Jews acted freely and from a criminal 
motive, when they compelled the Cyrenean to help Jesus 
carry his cross, yet they also fulfilled the will of God, 
for on that occasion Simon represented all the converts 
to Christianity. Let us learn from this that the designs 
of God are always accomplished, and that, while he re- 
spects the liberty of man, he infallibly executes all the 
decrees of his providence. 

Simon is highly honored in being allowed to touch 
the Savior's cross, to help him carry it, and thus to assist 
Ktol. i. 24. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 233 

at the great sacrifice of the supreme Pontiff ; but he does 
not yet understand the greatness of his privilege. He 
sees only the pain and humiliation attached to the 
service which he is c6mmanded to do and which, if he 
dared, he would refuse; he obeys only because he is 
obliged to do so, and he doubtless rebels interiorly at the 
violence done him. 

It is thus that we act when Jesus calls upon us to bear 
the cross with him. We view things from a human 
standpoint seeing only our natural repugnance for suf- 
fering and humiliation, and not the honor and the 
spiritual advantage to be gained from being humbled 
with Jesus and for his sake. We look only to the crea- 
ture in our trials and so complain of the injustice of men 
when we should rather be grateful for the special pro- 
tection which God has extended to us. 

Although Simon refuses the cross yet he is obliged to 
bear it; and so it is with us. In vain do we seek to 
escape the tribulations of life; we are compelled to un- 
dergo them, and by our refusal only make them more 
painful. The cross is inevitable : "Dispose and order all 
things according as thou wilt, and as seems best to thee, 
and thou wilt still find something to suffer. The cross 
is always ready and everywhere awaiteth thee. Turn 
thyself upward or turn thyself downward, turn thyself 
inward or turn thyself outward, everywhere thou shalt 
find the cross, and everywhere thou must of necessity 
hold fast patience. If thou carry the cross willingly, it 
will carry thee, and bring thee to thy desired end; 
namely, to that place where there will be an end of suf- 
fering, though here there will be no end. If thou carry 
it unwillingly, thou makest it a burden to thee, and 



234 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

loadest thyself the more, and, nevertheless, thou must 
bear it." 1 

Simon at first carries the cross against his will; but 
by degrees his mind is enlightened from above, his heart 
is inflamed with divine love, and he no longer feels either 
reluctance or fatigue. Grace triumphs over nature: he 
comprehends the dignity to which he is called by God; 
he experiences the truth that, whereas it appears hard, 
it is easy and even sweet to follow Jesus ; and instead of 
complaining of the choice made of him, he blesses the 
Lord for it and desires to suffer more to please him. 

And this is the case with all Christians when they 
accept the pains and humiliations of this life in a spirit 
of faith and in union with our Lord. "Such a one, thus 
many ways afflicted, is not without some relief or conso- 
lation ; because he is sensible of the very great profit he 
reaps by bearing the cross. For whilst he willingly re- 
signs himself to it, all the burden of tribulation is con- 
verted into an assured hope of comfort from God. And 
the more the flesh is brought down by affliction, the more 
is the spirit strengthened by interior grace." 2 

Jesus gives the cross to Simon and then walks before 
him. This is to teach us that only that cross will avail 
to salvation which God wills us to bear, and not thai 
which we choose ourselves; that it will not effect our 
sanctification, unless we accept in union with the senti- 
ments that animated our Lord. 

APPLICATION 

Let us raise ourselves above nature, and shape our 
course only according to the principles of the Holy Gos- 
^mitation, Bk. ii. ch. xii. 4, 5. 2 Ibid., 8. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 235 

pel and after the example of the Savior. Let us always 
regard with the eyes of faith the trials and humiliations 
of life,, especially those which are incident to our state : 
they are the cross that Jesus presents to us, and bids us 
carry after him. Let us not be ashamed to accept the 
cross, since our God did not disdain to bear it and there- 
by sanctify it. 

Let us not judge our cross by our natural feelings, but 
by the light of grace. Let us value it as the saints valued 
theirs, as we shall value ours at the moment of death ; or 
rather as we shall value it when we are in heaven, where 
we shall clearly understand that here below God chastises 
those whom he loves, that he makes those whom he des- 
tines for eternal glory, pass through the crucible of trib- 
ulation. 

Let us consider the trials that we receive from the 
hands of men as coming from God himself, and let us 
profit by them to become more like to Jesus Christ, and 
thereby increase our merit for heaven. Let us be full of 
courage and confidence. Our cross is very light if we 
compare it with that of our Savior, or even with that 
which we deserve to bear ! Besides, our Lord goes before 
us, to encourage and strengthen us; let us, then, walk 
after him, putting in practice that exhortation which he 
addresses especially to us Eeligious: "If any man will 
come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his 
cross, and follow me." 1 

PRAYER 

Thou callest me, Jesus, to bear the cross and follow 
thee : and therein I know thou givest me a mark of thy 
'Matt. xvi. 24, 



236 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

great affection for me ; a proof that thou dost destine me 
to share one day in thy glory. Why then am I unwilling 
to accept the cross ? Alas ! I consider only the pain and 
trouble of bearing it, and not the advantages which I 
may derive therefrom. Have pity on my blindness and 
my weakness ; enlighten me from above, word of God, 
that I may truly esteem the cross, and strengthen me to 
bear it in union with thee. 

Besume, page 401. 

Let us contemplate Jesus carrying his cross and toil- 
ing up the mountain of Calvary: 

1. His human strength is exhausted. 

2. The Jews fear that he may die on the way. 

3. But a stranger, Simon of Cyrene, is passing by. 

4. They stop him. 

5. They compel him to carry the cross of Jesus. 

— how instructive are the different circumstances 
of this incident ! 

1. In Simon the Gentile world is called to carry the 
same cross. 

2. It is glorious to carry the cross after Jesus. 

3. It is repugnant to nature, but it is pleasing to 
grace. 

-I. The cross is inevitable: why seek to shun it? 
5. Let us accept with faith and love the cross that 
God wills us to bear; for this it is that will save us. 



FORTIETH MEDITATION 
A PIOUS WOMAN WIPES THE FACE OF JESUS 

Who shall comfort thee? — Isai. li. 19. 

CONSIDEKATION 

Let us contemplate our divine Savior continuing his 
weary journey to Calvary; let us consider him spent with 
fatigue, suffering unheard-of pains, overwhelmed with 
grief and oppressed with anguish. Jesus, how lament- 
able is thy state ! Too truly, alas ! is that prophecy of 
Isaiah now fulfilled : "We have seen him ... a man of 
sorrows, . . . whereupon we esteemed him not." 1 The 
most beautiful of the children of men is horribly disfig- 
ured; his august face, on which the angels desired to: 
look, and whence the saints draw their happiness, is 
covered with blood and spittle, with dust and sweat;, 
that countenance which has hitherto revealed all the 
beauty of a divine soul and constituted the delight of, 
the Eternal Father himself, now horrifies those who 
look upon it. 

Is this the face that Mary and Joseph covered with 
kisses, that the old man Simeon rejoiced on beholding, 
as he exclaimed : "Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, 
Lord, according to thy word, in peace, because my eyes 
have seen thy salvation ... a light to the revelation 

^sai. liii. 2, 3. 

237 



238 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

of the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel." 1 Of 
a truth never was man found in so pitiable a state ! 

And yet, with the exception of his blessed Mother and 
Simon the Cyrenean, not one in the immense crowd 
that surrounds him, comes forward to console and relieve 
him. Pity seems to be dried up in every heart; Jews 
and Eomans alike are either actuated by Aatred and 
cruelty, or remain in the most shameful indifference. 
Nevertheless, in that multitude there must be many 
who have admired the sublimity of his teachings, who 
have been fed with miraculous bread in the desert, or 
cured of their infirmities. Yet no one presents himself 
to defend Jesus, to protest against the injustice done 
him, or procure for him any relief. What cowardice! 
What injustice ! 

But a pious woman has placed herself in the way of 
the divine Savior; like Mary, she wishes at least by a 
look to manifest her compassion for him, and give 
some comfort to his divine heart by showing him that 
there are still souls who are faithful to him and burn 
with love for him. Scanning the dreary procession, she 
perceives her beloved Eedeemer, but in so frightful a 
state, that her heart is ready to break. Her eyes fill with 
tears ; her soul is moved with the liveliest compassion, 
and shares in all the sufferings of Jesus. She entertains 
no sentiment but that of pity, which is the niore powerful 
because of her love of her Savior and his need of relief. 
Without pausing to calculate or reflect, but urged on by 
the charity with which she is animated, she makes her 
way through the astonished soldiers, to the person of 
Jesus, bends before him and then wipes his adorable 
^uke ii. 29-32. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 239 

face. how touching is this trait of genuine compas- 
sion ! how worthy of our admiration is this holy 
woman who is presented to us in the sixth station of the 
cross ! 

To reward her for her. act of charity, Jesus Christ 
vouchsafed to leave the imprint of his august face on the 
white cloth that she had used ; and thus she was the first 
to have an image of Jesus suffering — and an image 
made by himself! What a precious favor! What a 
treasure to her must have been that holy and true like- 
ness ! With what piety, what emotion, what love did she 
contemplate and venerate it! How many times must 
she not have kissed with the most profound respect the 
impression of the adorable face of Jesus immolating 
himself for men ! 

Although horribly disfigured, the face of our divine 
Savior is not an object of aversion to this woman. Far 
from turning away from it, she rather delights in con- 
templating it. Enlightened by faith, she discovers a 
ravishing beauty under that exterior which is so hideous 
to the eyes of nature; for she realizes that this bruised 
and mangled face is truly the face of the Christ-king, of 
him who is the Splendor of God the Father ; and that the 
blood, the spittle, and the dust with which it is covered, 
are voices that speak to her eloquently of his love for 
men. 

The prodigy, wrought in favor of this holy woman, 
is also a figure of the special graces and signal favors 
which God often grants, even in this world, to generous 
souls that have the courage to overcome themselves on 
difficult occasions. . Our divine Savior shows them the 
features of his adorable face, which he impresses deep 



240 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

in their hearts, thereby sustaining and encouraging 
them in the accomplishment of the duties imposed upon 
them by their love for him and their devotedness in his 
service. 

APPLICATION 

To us also, Christian souls, our divine Savior shows 
himself in such a state of suffering as to excite our com- 
passion. For he manifests himself to us in the person 
of the poor, the unhappy, the sick, of those for whom 
we feel an aversion, perchance even disgust. Can we 
behold him thus with indifference? Can we refuse to 
render him any service in our power ? We piously vener- 
ate the image of his sacred face, the crucifix, and every 
other object that recalls him : but do we reflect that the 
sick and the unhappy, whosoever they be, are living 
images of Jesus suffering? Let us, therefore, show re- 
spect and affection for them. 

Let the courage of this holy woman, who fearlessly 
makes her way through the soldiers to do a service to a 
condemned criminal on his way to execution, teach us 
how efficacious is the grace of God in docile souls; how 
strong, generous, superior to themselves it makes them. 
Let us, then, have confidence in that divine assistance 
which is given us when needed, and which will enable us 
to triumph over our natural feelings and practise cour- 
ageously the Christian and religious virtues befitting 
our state. 

Let the image of Jesus suffering be the object of our 
worship ; let us carry it about with us, and kiss it with 
piety, love, and gratitude. Let us bear it in our heart; 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 241 

let us often picture it to our imagination; and, at the 
same time, let us elicit most sincere acts of thanksgiving, 
and of love for our generous Bedeemer. 

Would to God that our souls, having no affection for 
creatures, might be compared to the clean white cloth of 
the pious woman who wiped the face of Jesus! What 
happiness would he ours if this were so ! Our souls 
would be conformable to him who is the model of the 
predestinated. 1 Jesus would recognize his image in 
them, and at the moment of our death he would reward 
us with the eternal contemplation of his beauty. 

PBAYEB 

Jesus, the fairest of the children of men, how piti- 
able is thy state as thou climbest the hill of Calvary ! 
With what grief and compassion thou inspirest me ! Why 
can not I, like that holy woman on whose courageous 
action I am meditating, wipe away the dust, the sweat, 
and the blood with which thy face is covered ? Why can 
not I, like her, preserve the imprint of thy features, that 
I may keep my eyes ever fixed upon it, press it often to 
my lips, and kiss it with the greatest veneration ? 

But my desire is not vain. The service rendered to 
thee by that holy woman, I may render to thee, my 
Savior, by exercising charity towards my Brothers and 
my pupils, especially towards those for whom I feel any 
natural dislike; and thy holy image I have not only in 
the crucifix, but also in my suffering brethren. Let it 
be also in my heart, where I beseech thee to impress thy 
divine features so deeply that at my death thy Father, 
^om. viii. 29. 



242 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

recognizing my likeness to thee, may admit me to con- 
template with the elect thy glorified countenance, which 
constitutes the felicity of the angels and saints in 
heaven. 

Besume, page 401. 

A pious woman compassionates the sorrows of Jesus. 

1. She contemplates his face hidden, as it were, under 
a veil of dust, sweat, and blood. 

2. She makes her way through the soldiers. 

3. She approaches him. 

4. She wipes his adorable face with a cloth. 

5. And Jesus leaves on the cloth the impression of 
his face. What a precious relic ! 

— Let us, while meditating on this subject, admire, 

1. The faith of this holy woman, who in Jesus thus 
disfigured recognizes her God. 

2. Her courage, which nothing can restrain. 

3. Her charity and her compassion. 

4. The graces which Jesus bestowed upon her. 

5. And, in particular, the signal favor by which he re- 
wards what she has done. 

Let us ask Jesus to imprint his features on our souls. 



FORTY-FIRST MEDITATION 
JESUS CONSOLES THE HOLY WOMEN 

Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not over me; but weep for your- 
selves, and for your children. — Luke xxiii. 28. 

CONSIDEKATION 

Let us contemplate our divine Savior ascending Cal- 
vary and drawing near the place of his sacrifice. His 
executioners have relieved him of his cross ; but as it was 
not so much the wood that crushed him as the weight 
of our sins, he is still weak and languishing, and walks 
with the greatest pain. He is surrounded by an immense 
crowd, who continue to insult him and blaspheme his 
holy name. The Jews, in particular, manifest their 
eagerness to see him fastened to the cross and elevated 
in the sight of all. 

Nevertheless, some holy women are touched with com- 
passion, and follow him weeping and lamenting. They 
thus manifest their love for our Savior, and their horror 
of the deicide which the Jews are committing. Without 
doubt, Jesus is consoled by this proof of affection and 
accepts the tribute of their tears : yet he seems to be in- 
different to them. Even as he appeared insensible to his 
triumphant entrance into Jerusalem, so now he appears 
oblivious of the part which these pious women take in his 
pains and humiliations. His sufferings are excessive, 
and his degradation extreme; but he heeds it not: he 

243 



244 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSIOK 

forgets himself to think only of the salvation of men. 

Turning towards the holy women, he looks on them 
kindly and thereby gives them both consolation and an 
abundance of grace. Then for their instruction and for 
ours as well, he tells them: "Daughters of Jerusalem, 
weep not over me; but weep for yourselves and for your 
children. For if in the green wood they do these things, 
what shall be done in the dry?" 1 How worthy these 
words are of our most serious meditation! 

"Weep not over me." — But, Lord, art thou not in a 
most pitiable state ? How can we contemplate thee, the 
Beloved of our hearts, covered with wounds, over- 
whelmed with opprobrium, condemned to be crucified, 
and not feel the liveliest compassion ? How can we see 
thee shedding thy blood, and not mingle our tears with 
it as it flows? 

Yet thou say est to us: "Weep not over me." Yes 
we understand. It is not to forbid our tears, but 
rather to manifest the generosity of thy heart. It is 
as if thou didst say: "This is the day that I have so 
ardently desired, the day of the baptism wherewith I am 
to be baptized, and for which I have sighed for thirty- 
three years. My love will not be satisfied until I have 
given my life for the salvation of the world. Behold, 
now the moment has come. Do not by your tears lessen 
the joy of my heart." 

"Weep not over me; but," adds our divine Master, 
"weep for yourselves and for your children." Weep 
over your sins and those of your people ; weep not over 
the woes which they have brought on you and on them. 
Thus he teaches us that if it be reasonable to deplore an 
'Luke xxiii. 28, 31. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 24S 

evil, it is much more so to deplore its cause. Hence his 
torments and his ignominy, excessive though they be, 
ought to call forth less tears than the sins which were 
their cause. 

It is our sins that delivered him to his enemies, that 
mangled his body under the blows of rods and whips, and 
drained his veins of their blood. It is our sins also that 
plaited the crown of thorns, and placed it on his brow, 
thereby disfiguring his august countenance. It is our 
sins that after having laid the cross on his bruised 
shoulder, pierced his hands and his feet and took away 
his life. Our sins, therefore, should be the first subject 
of our tears. 

"Weep for yourselves and for your children." — Our 
divine Savior, whose heart is an abyss of kindness and 
tenderness, thinks less of his sufferings than of the mis- 
fortunes of the people to whom he was sent and whom 
but for their perverse will he would have saved from 
everlasting death. He repeats his predictions concerning 
the ungrateful inhabitants of the city of Jerusalem: 
"The time shall come when they will begin to say to the 
mountains: Tail upon us;' and to the hills; 'Cover 
us/ >* 

loving heart of Jesus, thou forgettest thy own sor- 
rows in thy concern for the misery that is to come upon 
thy people, and in the longing to avert the bitterness of 
their suffering ! Deal as mercifully with us. Teach us 
what misfortunes threaten us, and, by thy grace, enable 
us to avoid them. 

Our divine Master concludes his warning with these 
terrifying words: "If in the green wood they do these 
^uke xxiii. 30. 



246 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

things, what shall be done in the dry T n If the fire of 
divine justice is so active on me, a green tree, laden with 
flowers and fruits, what will it do to the sinner who is 
but dry wood, barren and useless? ... If such evils 
overwhelm me, who have merely taken the appearance 
of sin, what must not those expect who are really stained 
with its guilt ? sublime lesson that Jesus gives us in 
these few words ! Why have we not learned it better ? 
why do we not make it the rule of our conduct forever- 
more? 

APPLICATION 

In union with the holy women of Jerusalem, let us 
compassionate the sorrows of Jesus; let us share his 
sufferings, remembering that he suffers because of our 
sins and for our sake. Let us weep over him; but as 
he exhorts us, let us weep rather for ourselves. Let us 
bewail the spiritual miseries that have afflicted mankind 
ever since the day of the first sin. how great reason 
have we not to shed tears of compassion for ourselves! 

Let us weep for our sins, for they have overwhelmed 
the divine Victim of our redemption with sorrow and 
ignominy; but let us bewail them sincerely. Let us 
this very hour begin a truly penitential life, and so pro- 
cure for the heart of Jesus that consolation which he 
most demands of us, and which will merit for us a share 
in the fruits of his sacrifice. 

Woe to us, if we neglect to weep for our sins, and to 
do sincere penance for them ! Woe to us if, during our 
life, we are but dry wood, dead branches cut off from 
a Luke xxiii. 31. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST M? 

Jesus, the true vine to which we must be united, if we are 
to bear salutary fruit and find favor before God ! 

Let us atone for others and particularly for our rela- 
tives; for by their sins, they also offer insult to God, 
do injury to themselves, and draw down calamities upon 
the earth. 

Let us be more and more penetrated with fear of God's 
justice ; let us strive to mitigate its rigor, to avert which, 
alas ! we may as yet have done nothing. Let us examine 
in the presence of our divine Savior, whether we are the 
dry wood to which he alludes in the words on which we 
have been meditating. Do we possess the spirit of faith 
and charity which, like a vivifying sap, produces fruits 
of sanctification and salvation ? or are we so withered up 
by pride, vanity, envy, sensuality, indifference to the 
things of God, and barrenness of good works, as to call 
down the divine vengeance on ourselves? 

PEAYEE 

Jesus, thou dost bid us weep not over thee, but over 
ourselves. Inspire us, then, with the sentiments of 
compassion which thy state should excite. Let us weep 
over thee ; let us weep over thy sorrows which are greater 
than all other sorrows. But let us also weep over our- 
selves, because we have had the misfortune of offending 
thee by our sins, and of causing thy sufferings. Grant, 
I beseech thee, that weeping over thee and over ourselves 
we may participate in the merits of thy holy passion ; and 
persevering in the accomplishment of our duties, we may 
be in thy sight not the dry wood which thou didst curse, 
but the green* wood to which thou comparest thyself; 



248 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

for it is only the green wood that will be transplanted to 
the gardens of the heavenly Sion. 

holy daughters of Jerusalem! who did not fear 
openly to manifest jour compassion for your divine 
Bedeemer, obtain for us strength always generously to 
confess him, and to walk courageously after him on the 
way of Calvary, the only way that leads to heaven. 

Eesume, page 402. 

Jesus ascends Mount Calvary, accompanied or fol- 
lowed by an immense multitude that continue to outrage 
him. 

1. Yet there are some holy women who compassionate 
his sorrows. 

2. How consoling to him is this mark of piety and 
affection ! 

3. He looks upon them kindly. 

4. He consoles them, and enriches them with his 
graces. 

5. He instructs them, and in their person all men, 
saying : "Weep not over me, but over yourselves." 

— Let us regulate our conduct by these words : 

1. Let us compassionate the sorrows of Jesus, let us 
weep over him. 

2. But let us weep still more over ourselves, miserable 
sinners. 

3. Let us weep over our sins and those of our rela- 
tives. 

4. Let us fear divine justice. 

5. Let us fulfil all our duties as religious and as 
teachers, that we may be the green wood to which Jesus 
compares himself, and not the dry wood, which he will 
cast into the fire. 



FORTY-SECOND MEDITATION 
JESUS STRIPPED OF HIS GARMENTS 

They stripped him of his outside coat. — Gen. xxxvii. 23. 

CONSIDERATION 

Let us contemplate our divine Savior on the summit 
of Calvary. This is the end of the dolorous way that 
he had to traverse. Would that it were also the end of 
his sufferings ! But it would seem that all that he had 
previously undergone — the agony, the bloody sweat, the 
scourging, the crowning with thorns, the carrying of 
the cross, — are but the prelude to what he is yet to 
endure. All these sufferings did but mitigate the in- 
tensity of divine wrath, which is yet to be fully vented 
on the Victim of our sins; for it is on Calvary that 
divine justice is waiting to strike. 

Jesus has reached the summit of the rock where he 
is to be lifted up on the cross; he is surrounded by a 
crowd eager to satisfy its morbid curiosity. Jesus 
looks before him and around him. What a horrible 
picture meets his eye ! Here the cross, the nails, the 
executioners : there, the Pharisees mocking him sacri- 
legiously; farther on, the crowd loading him with 
curses. 

As in the Garden of Olives, so here again he con- 
siders the multitude of impenitent sinners who will 
refuse to profit by his sacrifice. At this thought his 

249 



250 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

soul is abandoned to desolation, and his strength failing 
him, he falls at the feet of the soldiers, who are pre- 
paring for his bloody execution. 

It was the custom in those days, before crucifying 
the condemned, to give them a draught of wine and 
myrrh, to dull their sensibility to the torments about 
to be inflicted on them. This potion should have been 
given to Jesus : but alas ! consistently with their pre- 
vious cruelty, the Jews gave him gall and vinegar, thus 
fulfilling the words of David : "They gave me gall for 
my food." 1 Yet our Savior does not refuse that bitter 
draught. He tastes it to expiate our sins of sensuality ; 
but he will not drink it, lest anything may lessen the 
sufferings by which he desires to make satisfaction for 
our sins. 

Meanwhile the signal is given to execute the cruel 
warrant granted by Pilate; whereupon the executioners 
brutally lay hold of the divine criminal and tear off 
his garments. who can conceive what Jesus suffers 
from this barbarous stripping! His robe, the only 
covering of his divine body, is fastened to his adorable 
flesh by the blood that he has shed. In stripping him 
violently of the garment, the soldiers re-open his 
wounds, renew all the tortures of the scourging, and 
inflict upon him such pain as we shudder even to 
think of. To the sufferings of his body are added the 
more painful afflictions of his soul. To what a fearful 
state is Jesus reduced ! to what an abyss of humiliation 
he has sunk ! 

Behold him, Christian souls, a Victim that having 
been flayed before being immolated, now lies panting 
Ts. lxviii. 22, 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 251 

at the foot of the altar of sacrifice. His sacred members 
are a shapeless mass of mangled flesh; his divine blood 
streams from every pore; his whole body is one vast 
wound. 

Alas ! He who gives the meadows their verdure and 
adorns them with flowers, who gives the birds their 
plumage, and the sun its splendor, has not a rag to 
cover him! The King of earth, the Master of heaven, 
has for his royal mantle only the wounds inflicted on 
him, and the blood that oozes therefrom. Angels of 
heaven, hasten to your Lord ! cover his divine body 
with your wings ; hide it from the eyes of those wretched 
blasphemers who so shamefully outrage him whom you 
profoundly adore as the very Splendor of God. 

Jesus does not consent to receive the visible assistance 
of the angels. He wishes to expiate our misfortune in 
losing, by sin, the robe of innocence wherewith we were 
clothed in baptism. The precious garment had been 
given us by our mother the Holy Church, just as his 
own tunic had been given him by his immaculate 
mother the Blessed Virgin Mary. He wishes to show 
us the misery of the soul that no longer wears the 
robe of grace; and his own intense grief when by their 
vices and impiety he is driven from souls which, if 
united to him by charity, would be, as it were, a glori- 
ous garment for his mystic body. He wishes also to 
show us to what degree he practised poverty; since at 
his death, as at his birth, he was wholly destitute of 
earthly goods. He presses men to renounce all gener- 
ously, and to strip themselves of earthly things, that 
they may become like unto him and apply to them- 
selves the merits of his sacrifice, 



252 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

APPLICATION 

How many lessons our divine Master gives us in this 
circumstance of his dolorous Passion! Let us not fail 
to study and apply them. Let ' us deplore our sins 
which have stripped us of the robe of innocence, 
ravished our souls of their beauty, and rendered them 
an object of horror in the sight of God. On the day 
of our baptism, the Church exhorted us to preserve with 
care the white robe wherewith she had clothed us; but 
alas ! by sin we have torn it off and cast it from us. 
Let us, by a true conversion, hasten to clothe ourselves 
with it anew. Let us embrace with courage the practice 
of penance, that second baptism, by which, through 
the mercy of God, we have been restored to the dignity 
of children of God and heirs of heaven. 

Let us be resigned in our trials, whatsoever they be. 
Let us recall Jesus suffering, and imitate him. We 
have contemplated him, enduring silently and patiently 
the most intolerable pains and the most humiliating 
opprobrium. how he condemns our impatience and 
our fastidiousness ! 

Let us faithfully cherish religious poverty. Let us 
often reflect that Jesus allowed himself to be stripped, 
to merit for those whom he calls to his service the 
grace to renounce entirely all 'earthly goods, to put on 
his livery, to wear it as becomes his disciples, to ob- 
serve in its full extent the precept of St. Paul, "Put ye 
on the Lord Jesus Christ." 1 

Let us bear in mind that every man must inevitably 
be stripped of everything, whether involuntarily, by the 
^om. xiii. 14. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 253 

accidents of life and by death, or voluntarily, by pen- 
ance and mortification. Let us consider the precious 
advantages of the second of these despoilments, and 
let us generously strive for them. Let us labor un- 
ceasingly to strip ourselves of self-seeking, of our pas- 
sions and our self-love, that we may imitate Jesus 
Christ, who is our model on earth, and who shall be our 
reward in heaven. 

PEAYEE 

Divine Jesus, spotless Lamb! who, to expiate our 
misfortune in losing thy grace, didst subject thyself 
to so many sorrows and humiliations, how can we re- 
pay thy infinite generosity? In no other way, dear 
Lord, than by trying to become like unto thee, stripping 
ourselves entirely of self-love, pride and sensuality; 
practising humility and mortification, and guarding 
against the loss of the precious gift of innocence which 
thou hast bestowed upon us. 

Mary, our Mother ! help us to preserve that sacred 
robe wherewith we must be clothed if we would enter 
heaven; that nuptial garment wherewith we must be 
adorned to be admitted to the eternal banquet, and 
share in the wedding feast of the Lamb, who, to merit 
for us that signal favor, suffered unheard of pains and 
inconceivable humiliations ! 

Eesume, page 402. 

The Victim has come to the place of immolation; 
the last preparations are making. 

1. The executioners present Jesus with vinegar and 
gall. 



254 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION" 

2. He tastes it, in order to expiate our sensuality. 

3. They* afterwards seize him violently. 

4. They brutally tear off his clothes, which, owing to 
the blood that had flowed from his wounds, adhere to 
his flesh. 

5. They thus renew all the torments of the scourging. 
— Let us reflect that he willed to suffer all this, 

1. To expiate the sins which have stripped us of the 
robe of innocence. 

2. To merit for us the blessing of being clothed anew 
with the robes of grace. 

3. To teach us patience. 

4. To teach us poverty and detachment from all 
things. 

5. To teach us detachment from ourselves. 



FORTY-THIRD MEDITATION 
THE CRUCIFIXION 

They crucified him. — Luke xxiii. 33. 

CONSIDEKATION 

For more than four thousand years, divine justice 
awaited on Calvary the solemn expiation of man's sin. 
At last the hour has come, the Victim is ready, the 
altar is prepared, the sacrifice is about to be accom- 
plished. Jesus raises his eyes to heaven, then casts 
them on the cross beside him, and stretching himself 
on that bed of pain and ignominy, presents his hands 
and his feet to the executioners who are going to pierce 
them. 

Christian souls, come to your beloved Lord! Con- 
template your august Victim in this moment of supreme 
torture. Consider his immolation on a mountain where 
all men may witness it; assist at the most harrowing 
spectacle ever seen on earth; place yourselves in front 
and view closely this heart-rending scene. Behold the 
executioners pitilessly seizing the right hand of Jesus, 
and placing it roughly on the wood of the cross. Then 
one of them, by repeated blows of the hammer, pierces 
it with a large nail. who can understand the 
sufferings of our divine Savior at this moment! The 
very thought of them makes us shudder, and fills our 
imagination with horrible pictures. 

255 



256 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

But let us turn away neither our imagination nor 
our thoughts from the subject. Let us, on the con- 
trary, contemplate with pity and attention the horribly 
mangled hand of Jesus fastened to the cross, his bent 
fingers, his shattered nerves, his blood flowing from 
the torn veins, his contracted arm, his stiffening body, 
his head racked with pain. Let us read in his face 
and in his tearful eyes, what his immaculate body 
suffers to expiate the sins of our guilty flesh. 

And yet this, so far from being all that Jesus sub- 
mits to endure on this occasion, is only the beginning 
of his torments. His executioners continue their bloody 
work. They seize his left arm which he abandons to 
their cruelty; they pull it violently to force it to the 
place where it is to be fastened, and by that tension, 
the very thought of which makes us shudder, they en- 
large the wound in his right hand, dislocate his bones, 
and cause him excruciating pain. Then they nail the 
left hand as they had done the right. And thus, 
Lord! thy divine hands that had wrought so many 
prodigies, that had made heaven and earth, are mangled, 
pierced, and fastened to the cross by man, who is their 
work and for whom thou didst perform thy miracles, — 
and this near Jerusalem, among the very people, nay 
by that people, whose guide thou hast been, and upon 
whom thou hast bestowed innumerable blessings ! 
grievous disorder ! base ingratitude ! more painful 
to *thy soul than even the torments of thy divine body. 

Meanwhile the executioners seize the feet of Jesus, 
those beautiful feet which, according to the expression 
of the prophet, 1 had brought peace to many, those feet 
^sai. lii. 7, 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 25? 

in whose steps so many unfortunates had followed, 
those feet which were so often wearied in seeking sin- 
ners and consoling the afflicted. The executioners pull 
his feet violently, and thus dislocate the bones that 
were not already out of joint; and taking an enormous 
nail, they drive it, by repeated blows, through both 
feet, and for the third time cause the Savior cruel 
suffering. 

Hearken, Christian souls! hearken to those dismal 
strokes, heard distinctly by the now silent crowd, echo- . 
ing so mournfully in the heart of the Blessed Virgin 
Mary, his Mother. weep with her, weep for her 
sorrows; but weep also for yourselves and for your 
sins, which are the cause of the sufferings of both Jesus 
and Mary on Calvary. 

The Victim is now nailed to the wood of immolation. 
The prophecy which our divine Savior had spoken by 
the mouth of David is now literally accomplished: 
"They have dug my hands and feet; they have num- 
bered all my bones "* Jesus, adorable Master, deign, 
we beseech thee, to teach us why thou wouldst suffer 
such cruel torments. It is because thou art the ex- 
piatory Victim of all our sins, which are, alas ! innum- 
erable. Thy feet are pierced because we have strayed 
from the way of virtue. Thy hands are pierced to 
atone for the sins which ours have committed. Alas ! 
how great is their number ! How many times they have 
been multiplied from the day when Eve stretched out 
her guilty hand to the forbidden fruit, to this hour of 
darkness in which thy executioners have laid their 
sacrilegious hands on thy sacred body ! And how vastly 
^s. xxi. 17, 18. 



258 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

will their numbers be increased up to that moment 
when Antichrist shall insolently raise his hand against 
heaven ! Lord, I now understand, it is in thy hands 
thou dost endure thy greatest exterior sufferings ! 

APPLICATION 

In union with Mary on Calvary, let us compassionate 
the sufferings of Jesus. Let the blows that fall upon 
him re-echo in our hearts. It is for us he suffers ; let us 
then suffer with him. Let us bless him for offering 
himself a sacrifice for our salvation. With all the 
saints, let us magnify the love which led him to give 
himself up in our place, to satisfy divine justice for 
our sins. As we recall the pains of his crucifixion, let us 
deplore our wanderings from the way of virtue, and 
the many sins of which our hands have been the instru- 
ments. Let us never forget how much Jesus suffered 
to expiate them. 

Let us also bear in mind that Christ crucified is our 
model. But let us not be frightened at the thought. 
Our adorable Master does not call upon us to suffer 
torments like his* but were he to do so, he would him- 
self give us strength to bear them all. But there is 
a cross to which we must be fastened, and whereon we 
must remain, subduing self by the desire of becoming 
like unto him. The cross for us religious is the accom- 
plishment of our holy Eules; and the nails are not 
only obedience to our superiors, and gratitude and love 
for Jesus, but also the vows that we have made in 
order to assure our perseverance in his service. 

Let us be faithful to these engagements; let us live 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 259 

as becomes true religious. We shall thereby render 
ourselves conformed to the divine Model shown us on 
Calvary, and we shall secure our right to the celestial 
heritage which he merited for us by his sufferings and 
death. 

Let the contemplation of his crucifixion be a source 
of courage to us in sickness; let us then cast our eyes 
on our divine Savior nailed to the cross, and reflect 
that the cross which he wills us to bear is the bed of 
pain to which we are confined. Let us esteem our 
resemblance to him as a real blessing, and unite our 
sufferings with his. Let us lovingly adore him nailed 
to the cross. Let us venerate the wounds in his hands 
and feet, and beg of him the grace to reproduce them 
mystically in ourselves by the practice of penance and 
mortification. 

PRAYER 

Behold me, Jesus! near thy cross, weeping at the 
remembrance of thy sorrows and the thought of my 
sins which have caused them. how cruel I have 
been to thee! Nevertheless, my generous Redeemer, 
let me hope for pardon; for the wounds of thy hands 
and feet, which so eloquently reproach me with my 
crimes, also speak to me of confidence, for I know that 
by them thou hast expiated my iniquities. I may there- 
fore regard them as the writing in thy blood, giving 
me a claim to thy mercy. I beseech thee, then, by thy 
divine wounds and by the sorrows of thy blessed Mother, 
to forget all my sins, and give me grace to be obedient 
to my superiors, faithful to my rule, crucified to the 



260 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

world, and animated only with the desire of pleasing 
thee and persevering in thy holy service. 

Eesume, page 403. 

The solemn hour of expiation has come; everything 
is ready for the bloody sacrifice. 

1. Jesus looks upon the cross at his side. 

2. He approaches it. 

3. He lies down on the infamous wood. 

4. The executioners seize his hands and nail them 
to it. 

5. They take his feet and nail them in like manner. 
— what torture he endures ! What torture also 

Mary suffers ! 

1. Like her, let us compassionate Jesus crucified. 

2. Let us bless him for his love for us. 

3. Let us weep for our sins, which are his true exe- 
cutioners, and let us do penance for them. 

4. In union with Jesus crucified, let us accept with 
resignation all the trials of life, all the inconveniences 
of our state. 

5. Let us adore the Savior's wounds, and reproduce 
them in ourselves by the practice of mortification. 



FORTY-FOURTH MEDITATION 
JESUS RAISED ON THE CROSS 

As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son 
of man be lifted up. — John iii. 14. 

CONSIDERATION 

Let us devoutly contemplate our divine Savior nailed 
to the cross and suffering the most cruel pains. Let 
us learn from his contracted features the violence of 
the torment which he endures; let us listen to his 
prolonged groanings; let us fix our eyes on his pierced 
hands and feet, and follow the course of the blood that 
streams from them as from four inexhaustible foun- 
tains. Let us learn thence the greatness of his love 
for us and the infinite price of our redemption. And 
yet, how far he still is from exhausting the sufferings 
to which he has resigned himself for our salvation! 

He is fastened to the cross; but the cross must be 
placed erects for the altar of the great sacrifice must 
be elevated to present to all men the Lamb immolated 
for their salvation. The Mediator between God and 
man must be placed between heaven and earth; the 
Light of nations must be raised on high; the Son 
of man must be lifted up, that from the height of his 
gibbet he may draw all things to himself. By that 
painful and ignominious exposure he must also expiate 
the sins of pride by which we have sought to make 

261 



262 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

ourselves conspicuous and raise ourselves above others. 
Yes, the cross must be elevated; but alas! at the cost 
of what suffering for Jesus! 

Let us mentally assist at the elevation of the august 
Victim; let us witness the uplifting of the cross. Let 
us see how its foot is placed against a rock, how it is 
gradually raised by means of cords and ladders, and 
how when raised, it is slid along until it falls with all 
its weight into the hole prepared to receive it. 

who can tell what Jesus endures from this hor- 
rible shock ! how his pierced hands are torn ! how the 
wounds in his feet are enlarged! The imagination 
cannot picture, the intellect cannot fathom, the abyss 
of his torture. Never before did the sun shine on a 
scene so heart-rending, from which it is about to veil 
its light in horror ! 

And when I reflect that he who suffers thus is my 
God, my Master, and my Savior, that he suffers in my 
place and on my account, I know not on what senti- 
ment to dwell. I am filled with confusion and sorrow 
for my faults, with love and gratitude for his goodness. 
Everything urges me to cast myself at the foot of the 
cross on Calvary, and there pour forth my tears. 

But that the contemplation of this mystery of in- 
conceivable torment may produce salutary fruit in you 
and me, let us dwell on the other reflections which it 
suggests. This elevation of Jesus on the cross had been 
foretold, for the prophets had seen "the root of Jesse, 
who standeth for an ensign of people ;" x and, as Jesus 
himself tells us, it had been prefigured by the serpent 
which Moses raised in the desert: "As Moses lifted up 
^sai. xi. 10. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 263 

the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of man be 
lifted up." 1 

The cross is elevated on a mountain, in the middle 
of the day, on the eve of the most solemn Sabbath, 
before people of all nations, to show that all that have 
been bitten by the infernal serpent, must look with 
faith on the divine Crucified if they would be healed 
of the wounds in their souls. If the sight of the brazen 
serpent, which was only a figure of the Eedeemer, was 
so efficacious in curing the Israelites who had been 
bitten by the fiery serpents, how much more will the 
contemplation of Jesus on the cross remedy the evil 
done us by the devil ! 

Our divine Savior, uplifted on the tree of ignominy, 
expiates that pride whereby we raise ourselves above 
our brethren. At the same time he teaches us in what 
that elevation consists which is allowable and to which, 
if we cherish in our souls the holy ambition of resem- 
bling our Savior, we should even aspire. 

Yes, it is by the cross that man is really elevated; it 
is on the cross that he shows himself truly great, and 
it is only when he has been exposed thereon to the 
eyes of all men, that he becomes entirely worthy of 
esteem. Let us then desire to be elevated on the cross 
in union with our adorable Master. Nature may, in- 
deed, revolt at the thought; but Jesus elevated on the 
cross has merited for us the grace of triumphing over 
nature. He calls us to offer ourselves on the cross with 
him, that thus in union with him we may be made, 
as St. Paul says, "a spectacle to the world/' 2 And not 
only will he have us religious to be nailed with him 
'John iii. 14. 2 1 Cor. iv. 9. 



264 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

to his dolorous cross, but he calls upon all men to make 
the sacrifice, for he says : "And I, if I be lifted up from 
the earth, will draw all things to myself." 1 

To inculcate upon all generations this necessity of 
raising themselves on the cross with their Kedeemer, the 
mystery of the elevation of Jesus on the cross is con- 
stantly recalled to Christians by the crucifix, which the 
Church everywhere places before their eyes. Further- 
more, this elevation is nrysteriously continued in the 
holy sacrifice of the mass : three times does the priest 
hold aloft the saving Victim for the adoration of the 
faithful, and thus recall the elevation of the same Vic- 
tim on Calvary. 

APPLICATION 

Let us often look upon Jesus nailed to the cross, and 
think of what he suffers and why he suffers. Let us 
grieve over the pain that he endures and, remembering 
that our sins have caused it, let us be penetrated with 
sentiments of the most bitter repentance. 

Let us be humble, modest, and resigned : let us seek 
no other elevation than that of the cross. Let us say 
with St. Paul: "God forbid that I should glory, but 
in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Let us fre- 
quently recall to mind the elevation of Jesus on the 
cross, but particularly at the moment when the priest 
elevates the consecrated host and the chalice. 

Let devotion to the cross be ever dear to us; for the 
crucifix is the most eloquent of books. It speaks in 
moving language to our senses, our mind, and our 
^ohn xii. 32. 2 Gal. vi. 14. 



OP OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 265 

heart. It expresses all Christ's sentiments, it teaches 
all his doctrines, it answers all our queries. It con- 
soles us in the deepest affliction ; inspires us to the most 
heroic virtue; it teaches us charity, patience, forgive- 
ness of injuries, and love, of enemies. 

Let us bear the cross constantly about with us; let 
us give it a place of honor in every apartment of the 
house; let us respectfully salute it when we meet it 
in city or country. 

Let us train our pupils to be devout to the crucifix : 
let us teach them to read that book, which proclaims so 
eloquently the love of Jesus for us and the price that 
he paid for our souls. Let us persuade them to carry 
about them and place near their beds that ever blessed 
image, which they can never sufficiently venerate. May 
the sight of the crucifix excite in them and us the most 
lively confidence, and develop all the love wherewith 
our hearts ought to be inflamed for Jesus. 

crucifix ! sweet image of my Savior ! book of 
the Christian! thou shalt ever be dear to me; I shall 
ever have thee about me, and keep thee near my bed. 
Often will I kiss thee with love and respect; and when 
my last moment comes, it is to thee that I will give up 
my last sigh, it is in thee that my soul will find strength 
to overcome the devil and ascend to that abode whither 
my Savior draws all that are his. 

PRAYER 

Jesus! who wouldst be exposed, as a sign of hope, 
to the view of all nations, permit me to hope in thee ! I 
contemplate thee nailed to the cross, and I recall all the 



266 MEDITATIONS OX THE PASSION 

pains which thou didst endure thereon, and remembering 
that thou didst endure them for my salvation, I dare 
confide in thy mercy. Thou didst say that when thou 
wast uplifted from the earth, thou wouldst draw all 
things to thyself: thou wilt then save me, generous 
Eedeemer ! Thou wilt not permit so many toils and suf- 
ferings to be fruitless for a soul which aspires to follow 
thee, to be united with thee here below in thy sufferings 
and thy crucifixion, that it may be united with thee in 
heaven in thy infinite glory. 

Eesume, page 403. 

A victim for all men, the Mediator between them and 
his Father, Jesus wills to be lifted up between heaven 
and earth. 

Let us consider what takes place on this occasion. 

1. The executioners bring the cross to the place 
where it is to be raised. 

2. They fasten it with cords. 

3. They raise it little by little. 

4. Soon it is upright. 

5. All at once it falls with a jerk into the hole pre- 
pared for it. 

— What a frightful shock was thus caused Jesus ! 
How he suffered in his hands and in his feet ! 

1. Let us compassionate his sufferings. 

2. Let us weep over our sins, which caused them. 

3. Let us desire for ourselves no other elevation than 
that which comes by the cross. 

4. Let us often, and particularly at the elevation of 
the Host, adore Jesus raised upon the cross. 

5. Let us have a true devotion to the crucifix, and 
neglect no means of inspiring our pupils with this 
devotion. 



FORTY-FIFTH MEDITATION 
JESUS ON THE CROSS 

The root of Jesse, who standeth for an ensign of people. — 
Isai. xi. 10, 

CONSIDEKATION 

Let us go in spirit to Calvary, and kneeling at the 
foot of the cross, contemplate the adorable Victim of 
our redemption on the altar of sacrifice. What a 
picture is presented to our eyes ! To what a state of 
suffering in body and soul our beloved Savior is re- 
duced ! Let us behold him hanging between heaven 
and earth, fastened by enormous nails to an infamous 
gibbet, his body naked, mangled, bleeding, covered with 
wounds from head to foot. Let us view his immaculate 
flesh cruelly torn, his bones disjointed and laid bare, 
so that, according to the expression of the prophet, they 
may be "numbered." 1 Let us behold his august head 
crowned with thorns, his face besmeared with blood 
which, still streaming from his brow, mingles with 
his sweat and his tears. Let us look upon his languid 
eyes, his contracted lips, and his inflamed mouth which 
utters sighs and groans so pitiful as to soften the hard- 
est heart. 

Let us, with the liveliest compassion, consider his 
pierced hands and feet, and the fearful wounds which 
"Ps. xxi. 18. 
267 



268 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

the nails have made and from which, as also from the 
prints of the crown of thorns, the blood, oozing drop by- 
drop, causes him inconceivable torture. If he would 
support his" weight by his feet, he has, alas ! no other 
means than the nail that pierces them. If he would 
rest on his hands, he enlarges their wounds, and pro- 
duces the most painful tension in his arms; moreover, 
his chest heaves, and his breathing becomes more and 
more labored. If he allows his head to bend forward, 
he adds to the weight of his body and increases the 
opening in his lacerated hands. If he raises it, he 
presses the crown of thorns against the wood of the 
cross, and drives the sharp points farther in. Thus 
there is nothing for him but pain, without any possible 
alleviation! Great God! what a situation! And it is 
Jesus, our adorable Savior, who has vouchsafed to en- 
dure this for our sakes ! 

But who can conceive what he suffers in his soul? 
He is crucified between two thieves, one on his right 
and the other on his left, that he may be pointed out 
as a notorious malefactor, and, as he had himself fore- 
told by Isaiah, that he may be "reputed with the 
wicked V n God ! to what fellowship is he condemned 
who is the Figure of thy substance, and who reigneth 
with thee in the same unity of nature ! what 
shame and ignominy for him ! To what destitution he 
is reduced ! to what an outrage he is subjected ! 

When a man is about to enter into his agony, every 
one is ready to bestow on him all possible care and 
attention, to comfort and encourage him in those try- 
ing moments, and to show him love and pity. But for 
^sai. liii. 12; Mark xv. 28. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 269 

Jesus there is no such manifestation, except from his 
blessed Mother, St. John, and the holy women, whose 
presence is to him, in one respect, rather a subject of 
great pain than of consolation. Everything that sur- 
rounds him tends to fill his mind with sorrowful 
thoughts, and burdens his heart with bitter anguish. 
He suffers, through compassion, all the affliction of 
Mary, the beloved disciple, and the holy women. He 
sees his enemies insolently despising him, cursing him, 
wagging their heads at him, and ridiculing his tortures. 
He listens to their words, and hears only the most cruel 
mockery, the grossest insults, abusive epithets, cries of 
blasphemy, and loud bursts of derisive laughter, min- 
gled with the groans of his divine Mother. 

Into what an ocean of bitterness he is plunged ! And 
yet this is not all ! Jesus sees not only the present, but 
all the future to the end of time; and he knows how 
small a portion of the almost infinite number of men 
who are yet to be born, will' really be his friends: all 
the others he foresees will inherit the hatred of the 
Jews for his person, his doctrine, and his Church. 
They will refuse to apply to themselves the merits of 
his sacrifice, and will run to their eternal ruin, not- 
withstanding all he has done to save them. They will 
trample with sacrilegious indifference on the blood which 
he sheds in torrents for them. They will transmit 
from generation to generation a fatal heritage of 
vice and error, deny the truths that he has taught, 
despise his morality, mock his cross, and continue to 
heap on the Church, his mystic body, the outrages 
wherewith the princes of the synagogue now overwhelm 
his person. How great, then, must have been the pains 



270 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

of his soul, how terrible the affliction of his divine heart 
during his agony on the cross ! 

APPLICATION 

This picture of the sufferings of Jesus thrills our 
inmost being. Let us reflect that he endures them for 
love of us miserable sinners, whose hearts he wishes to 
gain, and for whom he has substituted himself to 
satisfy the justice of his Father. Let us bear in mind 
that he endures them in order to induce us to hate and 
avoid sin, which is their cause, and to teach us patience, 
resignation, and courage in trials. Let us understand 
the duties which they impose on us, and accomplish 
them cheerfully and faithfully. 

Let us love Jesus, who has so loved us as to sacrifice 
himself for our salvation. Let us love him with our 
whole heart, and prove our sincerity by giving him 
our fondest affection and devoting ourselves unre- 
servedly to his service. 

Let us often contemplate him immolating himself on 
the cross. Let us correspond with the intention of the 
Church, who wishes us to esteem the crucifix as the 
most precious ornament of our dwellings, to carry it 
constantly about us, to place it along the streets and 
roads, that we may unceasingly think of the adorable 
Victim of our redemption. 

Let the sight of Jesus on the cross inspire us with 
true repentance, since it is on account of our sins that 
the God of love suffers and dies. Let us weep over our 
misfortune in committing them, an*d mingle our tears 
with the blood which he|Sheds to expiate them. Let 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 271 

as likewise learn from the crucifix the cost of grace; 
let us set an infinite value on that treasure, which the 
Son of God valued more than life, and for the pur- 
chase of which he suffered inconceivable pains. 

Let the sight of Jesus on the cross inspire us with 
patience in the ills and adversities of life: for what 
are our troubles compared with his? Can we still 
refuse to accept them, after having considered him suf- 
fering every pain and every sorrow? But it is not 
enough to excite ourselves to patience; we must bear 
in mind that Jesus on the cross is the model to which 
all the elect must be conformed. Yes, Christian souls, 
he is the heavenly spouse whom you must resemble. 
Eaise yourselves, then, by grace above nature; and, 
notwithstanding your repugnance, love, desire, and 
seek the pains and trials of life, because by them es- 
pecially will you succeed in reproducing in yourselves 
the lineaments of your beloved Savior, and really mani- 
fest your love for him. 

PEAYER 

my crucified Jesus! how great have been thy sor- 
rows, and how generous has been thy love for us ! Thy 
hands, thy feet, thy head, all in thee and about thee, 
tell me what thou hast deigned to suffer for my sake. 
Why, then, Jesus, hast thou loved me to such an 
excess ? What didst thou see in me that thou shouldst 
sacrifice thyself without pity either for thyself or thy 
blessed Mother? Thou answerest me from thy cross, 
that thou didst see what I might become by the graces 
which thou hast merited for me by thy sufferings. Give 



272 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

me then, Lord, I beseech thee, the courage, the 
generosity, and the strength of mind, necessary to cor- 
respond with them. 

Thou dost offer me the grace of sorrow for my sins. 
Grant that I may weep for them, and that my tears, 
like those of Magdalen at the foot of the cross, may 
mingle with thy blood and obtain my pardon. Thou 
dost offer me also the grace of thy divine love; grant, 
then, that I may love thee, my good Master ! Thou 
didst say that when thou wast lifted up from earth, thou 
wouldst draw all things to thyself. Draw me, then, to 
thee as thou art nailed to the cross, and grant that I 
may be evermore united to thee. 

Besume, page 404. 

Let us contemplate Jesus on the cross. 
What sorrows he experiences ! 

1. His body is one great wound. His head is crowned 
with thorns. His hands and feet are pierced. 

2. He has no other support than the nails which 
fasten him to the cross. 

3. In his compassion for Mary he feels all her sor- 
rows. 

4. His ears catch no sounds but the insults and 
blasphemies of his enemies. 

5. His heart is breaking at the thought of the great 
number of sinners who will be lost in spite of what 
he is suffering to save them. 

He suffers all, from all, without any consolation. 
— He suffers it, 

1. Through love for us. 

2. To merit pardon for us. 

3. To win our hearts. 

4. To lead us to hate and shun sin. 

5. To teach us patience and resignation. 



FORTY-SIXTH MEDITATION 
JESUS PRAYS FOR HIS ENEMIES 

Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. — 
Luke xsiii. 34. 

CONSIDEKATION 

Christian souls, contemplate your God fastened to 
the cross, lifted up between heaven and earth, and 
teaching men by his example the sublime precept of 
forgiveness of injuries and love of enemies — a precept 
which was unknown before his coming, but which he 
taught in these words: "Love your enemies, do good 
to them that hate you, and pray for them that 
persecute and calumniate you." 1 

His enemies surround him like furious bulls; 2 they 
delight in outraging him; they express hatred and con- 
tempt in their every word. The soldiers insult him and 
divide his garments among them; the mob, excited by 
the synagogue, blaspheme him; the chief priests, the 
doctors of the law, and the ancients of the people, 
mingle with the multitude, and mock him in the most 
cruel and humiliating manner. The passers-by wag 
their heads and heap curses upon him, and all bid him 
come down from the cross if he be the Son of God, or 
lit God protects him, — all dare to say that he is not 
Christ, since he does not, by his deliverance, answer 

x Matt. v, 44. 2 Ps. xxi. 13. 

273 



274 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

their sacrilegious challenge. They manifest for him 
neither pity nor humanity. He hears nothing but 
mockery, reproach, insult, and blasphemy. 

How many motives has he not now for hurling signal 
vengeance on his enemies ! His dignity outraged, God 
his Father offended, and offended by deicide ; all justice 
set at nought, insults without number heaped on an 
innocent Victim who suffers, without a murmur, the 
most cruel torments — does not all this impel him to 
cry out, as did the high priest Zachary, immolated be- 
tween the altar and the temple: "The Lord see and 
require it?" 1 

But he will not act thus. Heeding nothing but his 
infinite goodness, he has only heavenly graces for his 
enemies. He opens his divine mouth and utters those 
sublime words: "Father, forgive them, for they know 
not what they do!" 

my dear Lord, is this what thy heart inspires in 
such circumstances ? Thy enemies curse thee, and thou 
answerest with blessings; they calumniate thee, and 
thou offerest excuses for them; they put thee to a most 
infamous death, and, when about to undergo it, thou 
prayest for thy persecutors and thine executioners! 
Lord ! no man could act thus : thou art indeed 
God, and I adore thee as such. Haclst thou spoken but 
these words, they would suffice to establish thy divinity. 
Oh ! help me to penetrate their meaning during this 
meditation, that I may enter into the sprit of this mys- 
tery, and may learn to know the perfections of thy 
sacred heart. 

Jesus had kept silence while they accused and con- 
*2 Paral. xxiv. 22. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 275 

demned him and even while they crucified him. He thus 
acquitted himself in a sublime manner of his august 
character of Victim, and remained dumb as a lamb 
before his shearer; 1 but being not only the Victim but 
the Priest of the sacrifice, he had also to pray and to 
give instruction. Hence lie now speaks from the height 
of the cross, in the attitude of a priest at the altar; 
and his first word is at once a most admirable and 
efficacious prayer, and a most salutary lesson. For- 
getting that it is by his enemies he suffers, he remem- 
bers only that it is for them he offers his sacrifice. 
"Father/' he says, "forgive them, for they know not 
what they do." 

How eloquent is that supplication, and how admir- 
ably fitted to attain its object! Jesus says, "Father," 
and not "God," to appeal more directly to the heart of 
him whom he addresses. He asks pardon for his ene- 
mies in a precise, definitive manner — Forgive them, — 
but he makes only a vague allusion to the crime for 
which he asks pardon; and even without naming it, he 
hastens to excuse it on the score of the ignorance of 
those by whom it is committed. 

how great, how charitable, and how generous is 
our Pontiff, the Priest of the New Law, who, entirely 
forgetting himself, thinks only of us at the altar of 
sacrifice ! 

But it was not only on the cross that Jesus solicited 
our pardon; as eternal Priest, he unceasingly pleads 
with his Father for the pardon of sinners. At all times, 
but especially in the holy sacrifice of the mass, he re- 
peats the same prayer, "Father, forgive them;" nor 
"Isai. liii. 7. 



276 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

will he cease to repeat it so long as pardon may come 
from heaven to earth. 

There are also other points from which the charity 
of Jesus is manifest in that prayer which he offers as 
priest, and which is the subject of our meditation. While 
subjected to cruel outrage, he thinks not of himself, 
but of the insult offered to God his Father, and the 
misfortune of those who are its authors. He is afflicted 
at the sin of deicide, the enormity of which he com- 
prehends, and at the curses drawn down on their own 
heads by those who commit the crime. But he cherishes 
no desire of revenge, no hatred, no ill-will. He opens 
his heart to no sentiments but those of ardent love for 
his enemies, even at the very moment when he sees 
them abandoning themselves to the dictates of the 
most intense and the most unjust hatred. He asks par- 
don for them by the very blood which he sheds at their 
hands, and he asks it with "prayer and supplication, 
with a strong cry and tears." 1 

inconceivable goodness ! .0 unparalleled gener- 
osity! infinite charity! 

APPLICATION 

Let us often think of Jesus crucified, praying for 
his executioners, and let us model our conduct on that 
of our adorable Master. After such an example, can 
we cherish in our hearts hatred, desire of revenge, even 
the slightest rancor or resentment? If so, can we dare 
call ourselves disciples of Jesus Christ? And by what 
pretence of self-love can we justify resentment? What 
x Heb. v. 7. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 277 

are we in comparison with the Son of God, whom we 
have contemplated forgiving those even who crucified 
him? What are our injuries in comparison with the 
outrages which he underwent, and the ignominious 
death which he suffered ? . 

Nature inclines us to exaggerate the wrongs done us 
by our neighbor ; let us ask of Jesus nailed to the cross 
the grace to triumph over nature. Let us under all 
circumstances be animated with sentiments of the most 
generous charity towards all. If any one offend us, let 
us forgive him with all our heart; and if we cannot 
excuse the action, let us at least excuse the intention. 
Let us forgive all and always. Let us do more; let us 
pray God to forgive and enrich with his graces every 
person against whom we feel resentment, envy, or even 
dislike. 

Let us cherish a firm hope of being ourselves for- 
given, since we know that on the cross Jesus prayed for 
us, and that God has heard his prayer; but let us not 
forget that the pardon which he merited and asked for 
us, can be granted only to hearts that are truly con- 
trite and are merciful towards their neighbor, 

PRAYER 

Jesus, who, from the height of the cross dost pray 
for thy enemies, shar^ with us thy goodness, and thy 
charity. We are thy disciples, grant, then, that we may 
be really thy imitators. 

"Take from our hearts, Lord, all suspicion, indig- 
nation, anger, and contention, and whatever else may 
wound charity and lessen brotherly love," 1 that we may 

imitation, Bk. iv. ch. ix. 6. 



278 MEDITATIONS OK THE PASSION 

repeat with confidence the prayer which thou hast 
taught us : "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our 
debtors." 1 

Kesume, page 404. 

Behold how Jesus avenges himself! His heart can 
only pardon his enemies and pray for them. 

1. "My Father/' he exclaims, "my Father!" 

2. "Forgive them !" 

3. Forgive all: the chief priests, Herod, Pilate, my 
executioners ! 

4. Forgive these erring people. 

5. "They know not what they do." 

infinite goodness ! unparalleled generosity of 
Jesus. 

— What an example for us ! 

1. Let us often recall it; let us imitate it. 

2. Let us never cherish resentment ; let us generously 
pardon all offences. 

3. Let us excuse the intention, if we cannot excuse 
the deed. 

4. Let us always return good for evil. 

5. Let us bless Jesus praying for us upon the cross 
and in the holy sacrifice, and asking of his Father the 
pardon of our sins. 

J Matt. vi. 12. 



FORTY-SEVENTH MEDITATION 
JESUS PROMISES HEAVEN TO THE GOOD THIEF 

This day thou shalt be with me in paradise. — Luke xxiii. 43. 

CONSIDERATION 

The holy Gospel mentions among those who outraged 
Jesus fastened to the cross, the thieves who were cruci- 
fied with him; and records the words of one of them 
who said: "If thou be Christ, save thyself, and us." 1 
Thus a vile wretch, a felon, repeats the insults of the 
Jewish priests, and calls on Jesus to prove his divinity 
by coming down from the cross. This unhappy man, 
instead of preparing for death, heaps insults upon him 
who, in a few moments, is to judge him and pass sen- 
tence upon him for all eternity. 

Meanwhile the other thief is suddenly enlightened 
from on high ; and, docile to the grace given him through 
the merits of the blood of the innocent Victim, 
recognizes in Christ his Lord and his God. Filled with 
zeal for the glory of our divine Savior, he rebukes his 
companion for his injustice : "Neither dost thou fear 
God, seeing thou art under the same condemnation. And 
we, indeed, justly, for we receive the due reward of our 
deeds : but this man hath done no evil." Then turning 
towards Jesus, he adds: "Lord, remember me, when 
thou shalt come into thy kingdom." 2 

J Luke xxiii. 39. 2 Luke xxiii. 40-42. 

279 



280 MEDITATIONS ON* THE PASSION* 

admirable words ! prodigy of grace ! can this be 
the criminal who but a moment ago was himself insult- 
ing the divine Victim? His language now shows that 
he has all the virtues that make sincere penitents. He 
has the fear of God, which is the beginning of wisdom/ 
and he seeks to inspire his companion with it : "Neither 
dost thou fear God." He has the zeal of an apostle, and 
his zeal proves the sincerity of his conversion. He is 
humble and contrite, loudly confessing his sins and ac- 
cepting, in expiation, the torments which he endures 
on the cross. He is full of hope, and perfectly resigned 
to the will of God. 

What is especially admirable in him, is the faith which 
he professes openly and solemnly. How sublime it is! 
how lofty ! how well it proves the prodigious, nay, the 
supreme, efficacy of grace ! For what does he see in the 
external appearance of Jesus ? A man fastened like him- 
self to an ignominious gibbet, subjected to outrage, cov- 
ered with shame and opprobrium, naked, crowned with 
thorns, suffering extreme exhaustion, and dying the 
death of a felon! And yet in this man he confesses 
Christ, the Son of the living God ; he venerates him as a 
King on his throne; he pays him as profound adora- 
tion as if he contemplated him radiant with divine 
splendor ! 

When the apostles, who had seen the dead come forth 
from the grave at the voice of Jesus, are shaken in their 
faith, a thief who sees him subjected to the same tor- 
ture with himself, confesses his divinity; and that at 
the very moment when the chief priests and the ancients 
of the people blaspheme the adorable Savior of mankind, 
^s. ex. 10. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 281 

and insult him as though he had been the most wicked of 
men ! 

Let us admire this miracle of our Lord's infinite good- 
ness. At the very moment when he is subjected to the 
sacrilegious insults of his enemies, he forgets himself to 
attend to the salvation of souls, and offers one of the cru- 
cified thieves a powerful grace to which the latter 
promptly corresponds. 

Jesus is not ashamed to speak to a criminal justly 
condemned to capital punishment, and with surprising 
generosity to promise him: "This day thou shalt be 
with me in paradise ;" I will have thee for my companion 
and my friend when I enter heaven. What conde- 
scension! what charity! The penitent thief asks only 
a remembrance; and on that very day Jesus grants 
him a throne in his kingdom and promises him in- 
finite happiness. happy thief ! bless in the highest 
heavens him who has dealt mercifully with thee, and in 
union with all holy penitents celebrate his infinite good- 
ness and clemency. 

Alas ! the companion of thy sins and thy torments 
does not imitate thee; he rejects the mercy which is of- 
fered also to him; and, through his own fault, he is 
doomed to manifest, in time and in eternity, the terrible 
justice exercised by the Supreme Judge on those who 
refuse to acknowledge him for their King. 

On the cross then, Jesus shows himself to be King of 
kings and Author of goodness, giving, on the one hand, 
an everlasting kingdom to a penitent thief, but, on the 
other, as sovereign Judge, condemning to condign pun- 
ishment him who persists in resisting grace ! The dread 
office which he exercises on Calvary, he still exercises and 



282 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

will continue to exercise till the last day. At every mo- 
ment, he says to some penitent soul about to die : "This 
day thou shalt be with me in paradise;" and every 
moment, alas ! he gives up to their reprobate sense, those 
who resist his final graces and so prefer death in sin to 
their conversion. But he will pronounce sentence on all 
men, on the last day, when, seated on a throne of glory, 
with the good on his right and the wicked on his left, 
he shall say to the former: "Come, ye blessed of my 
Father, possess the kingdom prepared for you;" 1 and 
to the latter : "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlast- 
ing fire." 2 

APPLICATION 

This meditation ought to excite in us two opposite 
sentiments — confidence and fear. Whatsoever may be a 
man's sins, he may always hope for mercy, and obtain it 
by a generous correspondence with grace. Even though 
he have wasted his life in crime, and be about to appear 
before his Judge, he may still say with the Church in 
the Office for the Dead : "Thou, ... by the absolving 
of the thief, hast given me hope." 3 And if this be true 
for even the most infamous sinners, how great should be 
the confidence of a religious who has always cherished 
in his heart the desire of possessing God and promoting 
his glory ! 

Nevertheless, the subject on which we are meditating 
may well inspire us with salutary fear: for this is the 
only instance of a great sinner converted at death, which 

x Matt. xxv. 34. 2 lUd. 41. 

3 Prose Dies irce. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST - 283 

is clearly mentioned in Holy Scripture. If, in consider- 
ing the great mercy shown to the good thief, our hearts 
are buoyed up by unbounded hope ; nevertheless, reflect- 
ing on the fate of his companion in torment, we should 
be penetrated with fear : for he, too, was crucified with 
Jesus, witnessed his patience, was included in his prayer, 
associated in his sacrifice, placed near Mary at a short 
distance from the Savior's cross, perhaps even sprinkled 
with the blood of redemption. And yet on the very day 
when earth is reconciled with heaven, and divine grace 
flows in torrents, he becomes obdurate and is lost, not- 
withstanding the movements of grace and the rebuke of 
the penitent thief. Yes, let us hope, since the good thief 
was converted at the very hour of his death ; but let us 
also fear, for, under the same circumstances, the bad 
thief was lost ! 

Let us be docile to the salutary invitations of grace, 
which never fails us; let us promptly correspond to its 
inspirations. Let us practise as we ought, the virtues 
manifested by the penitent thief: fear of God, zeal, 
humility, contrition, hope, resignation. We shall thus 
merit to hear Jesus one day address to us, likewise, those 
words of supreme felicity : "This day thou shalt be with 
me in paradise." 

PEAYEE 

dear Jesus, my crucified God, look down with com- 
passion on my terror-stricken soul. how much I dread 
becoming one day thy enemy, and, like the bad thief, 
disowning thee and dying in my sin ! Lord, I be- 
seech thee by thy cross and by thy blood, have mercy on 



284 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

me and inspire me with the sentiments of the good 
thief. I, too, my generous Bedeemer, entreat thee to 
remember me in thy kingdom and to call me to reign 
there with thee. This favor I ask thee through the in- 
tercession of thy divine Mother, and in the name of the 
sufferings which she endured at the foot of thy cross. 

Besume, page 405. 

Jesus crucified is exposed to the insults of his ene- 
mies and even to those of the thieves crucified with him. 

1. One of them repeats the insults of the Jews. 

2. But the other, suddenly converted, reproves his 
companion. 

3. He proclaims the innocence and sanctity of Jesus. 

4. "Lord," he continues, "remember me when thou 
shalt come into thine kingdom." 

5. Jesus hears his prayer: "This day," he replies, 
"thou shalt be with me in paradise." 

— In accordance with the spirit of this mystery, 

1. Let us adore Jesus as a bountiful King. 

2. Let us admire the prodigy of grace wdiich he works. 

3. Let us have the most entire confidence in him. 

4. Let us urgently entreat him to remember us in his 
kingdom. 

5. Let us admire and imitate the virtues manifested 
in the good thief — fear of God, zeal, humility, contri- 
tion, hope, resignation, sublime faith. 



FORTY-EIGHTH MEDITATION 
JESUS GIVES US MARY FOR OUR MOTHER 

Woman, behold thy son. — John xix. 26. 

CONSIDERATION" 

Let us contemplate our adorable Eedeemer on the 
cross about to consummate his immolation. Let us 
adore him in union with Mary, the beloved disciple, 
and the holy women who have followed him to Calvary 
and stand as near him as the guards will permit. Let us 
hearken to the new and mysterious words which fall 
from his divine lips, and reflect on the circumstances in 
which he pronounces them. 

He is fastened naked to the cross, shedding drop by 
drop the little blood which he still possesses. From the 
moment when, by anticipation, he gave himself to his 
disciples in instituting the sacrament of the Eucharist, 
he sacrificed all; but the time now approaches when he 
will give up life itself. 

Mary is standing near the cross, contemplating her 
divine Son a prey to every torture, regarding one by 
one the wounds wherewith he is covered, listening to his 
every sigh, compassionating all his sufferings and humil- 
iations, immersed in bitter grief. She is crucified with 
her son. What agony ! dying she lives, yet living she 
dies ! Yes, in the agony of her maternal heart she dies a 
death more painful than that of nature, 

285 



286 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

While the new Adam is restoring what the first had 
destroyed, the new Eve is repairing the mischief wrought 
by the first. Jesus associates his Mother with himself; 
he allows her to share in the infinite sufferings by which 
he satisfies for the sins of mankind. She immolates her- 
self with him and for us, and thereby co-operates in the 
work of our redemption. Mary ! who can compre- 
hend thy desolation ! It is "great as the sea," 1 and high 
as the heavens. Thou, in truth, canst now say : "0 all 
ye that pass by the way, attend, and see if there be any 
sorrow like to my sorrow !" 2 

With Mary at the foot of the cross stands St. John, 
the beloved disciple, the virgin confidant of the heart 
of Jesus, the apostle of charity, who, at the Last Supper, 
reclined on the breast of his adorable Master. He alone, 
of all the apostles, ascended Calvary to share in the su- 
preme sorrows of the divine Victim sacrificing himself 
for love of us. 

With languid eyes that are soon to be closed in death, 
Jesus looks upon his blessed Mother and the beloved dis- 
ciple; and addressing Mary, he says, indicating St. 
John: "Woman, behold thy Son." Then, turning to 
St. John, he adds: "Behold thy Mother." 3 words 
sublimely simple, expressive of infinite love, and produc- 
tive of ineffable prodigies ! Jesus makes St. John his 
substitute to care for his divine Mother, to protect and 
assist her as St. Joseph had done. He rewards the be- 
loved disciple for his charity, his purity, and his fidelity, 
by giving him what he holds dearest in this world, — the 
Ark of the new covenant, the Treasure of heaven, the 
Queen of angels. What an inheritance! how ten- 
ement, ii, 13, 2 Ibia. I 12. 3 John xix, 26, 27. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 287 

der is the love of Jesus for his privileged disciple. 

But how great, also, is his tenderness for us all, for to 
us also he gives Mary to be our mother ! We were repre- 
sented in the person of St. John. In accomplishing the 
work of redemption, Jesus, kept constantly in view the 
men that he had come to ransom. When he prayed for 
his executioners, he praj^ed for all sinners; when he par- 
doned the good thief, he extended his mercy to all true 
penitents. So also when he gave Mary to St. John as a 
mother, he gave her to all the faithful. Yes, it is our 
welfare that is at stake. It is of us that Jesus thinks on 
the cross, even when he suffers his greatest torments, 
and when Mary surfers with him. He thinks of us, for 
he gives us his only remaining treasure, his own divine 
Mother; and it is to each one of us that he says: 
"Woman, behold thy son !" 

Divine Savior, how sublimely thou fulfillest thy prom- 
ise not to leave us orphans ! Thou remainest with us 
in thy sacrament, most loving of fathers, and thou 
givest us Mary for our mother ! What have we, then, to 
desire, and why should we not unceasingly praise thy 
generosity ? 

Jesus said "Woman," and not "Mother," to remind 
us that he addresses himself to the woman of Scripture 1 
by whose co-operation Eve's transgression was to be 
repaired. He wishes to give more ample proof that he 
is acting as God, and that he is about to pronounce a 
final sentence which he wishes to be fully executed. 
He would thereby effect a real substitution of man for 
himself, in virtue of which Mary is thenceforth to lavish 
all her affection on those whom he gives her as children, 
^en, iii. 15, 



288 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

Such is indeed the case; the word of Jesus is divine 
and therefore sovereignly efficacious ; it effects all that it 
signifies. Mary has no sooner heard it than she feels all 
the sentiments of tenderness, kindness and love, charac- 
teristic of a true mother. Her heart is enlarged to em- 
brace all Christian generations in its affection ; she feels 
that she is our mother, not only by appointment, but 
also by love and inclination. Behold her adopting us 
as children, and saying to Jesus in disposition as she 
had said to the angel Gabriel by word of mouth : "Be it 
done unto me according to thy word." 1 St. John, acting 
in our name, acknowledges her as his mother, and Jesus 
seals with his blood the contract of our glorious adop- 
tion. 

APPLICATION 

Jesus has given us his holy Mother to be our mother; 
what a motive for blessing him and celebrating his loving 
kindness ! A mother is given to us, and that mother is 
Mary ! Let us glory in our dignity as Christians, for by 
it we become children of Mary; what motives have we 
not for doing so? She who is our mother, is the Vir- 
gin Mother of God, the Queen of heaven and earth, the 
treasurer of grace, the highest, noblest, and most perfect 
of all creatures. 

Mary is our Mother. Let us love her, after God, 
with all the love of which we are capable, and always 
show ourselves worthy of her. Let her image, her name, 
and her memory, be ever in our minds. Let us seek to 
please her alone, and, with that view let us accomplish 
x Luke i. 38. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 289 

faithfully what she enjoins by these words: "Whatso- 
ever he shall say to you, do ye." 1 

Let us often call to mind the circumstances of our 
adoption; and let the sorrows which she then endured, 
be the foundation of our. filial love and the ground of 
our confidence. Mary not only loves us and desires our 
happiness; she has all power with her divine Son: for, 
in making her our mother he constituted her our protec- 
tor. Let us therefore count on her assistance, and never 
cease to implore it. 

But it is to us religious, as beloved disciples of our 
Savior, that Mary was particularly given as Mother. 
When he conferred on us the grace of our vocation, Jesus 
referred us to Mary in a special manner, saying: "Be- 
hold thy Mother." St. John's happiness is, therefore, 
ours also. Let us, then, appreciate it as he did, and like 
him devote ourselves to the glory of her whom we are 
so happy as to call our good Mother, and who ought 
therefore to be the object of our tenderest affection. 

PEAYER 

Mary ! remember that I became the child of thy 
sorrows on the day when Jesus, dying on the cross, 
revealed to us that thou art the Mother of all Christians. 
Oh ! permit me to pour forth my heart into thine, and to 
say, and say unceasingly: "Yes, I love thee, I bless 
thee, my good, gracious and tender Mother; permit 
me to give loving expression to the tenderness, devotion, 
and confidence of my soul for thee." 

Mary, who art still the Mother of our Lord Jesus 
\Tokn ii. 5. 



290 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSIOK 

Christ and who hast all power over him, present to him 
our prayers and supplications. Ask him to hear us, for 
we are thy children and his adopted brothers. Obtain 
for us the grace to profit by the great sacrifice of Calvary 
in which thou didst co-operate, so that, at the moment of 
our death, Jesus may point thee out to us, and say : "Be- 
hold your Mother ;" and may admit us to participate in 
thy ineffable joys. 

Eesume. page 405. 

Let us meditate on the third word of Jesus on the 
cross. 

1. Let us consider the circumstances under which he 
pronounces it! 

2. Mary is standing at the foot of the cross. 

3. The beloved disciple is there also. 

4. Jesus looks upon his holy Mother who is over- 
whelmed with grief. 

5. He makes her our mother; designating St. John, 
who represents all Christians, he says to Mary: 
"Woman, behold thy son," then looking upon St. John 
and designating Mary, he says : "Behold thy mother." 
Mary, entering into his views, adopts us as her children. 

— Let this meditation move us, 

1. To thank Jesus for so excellent a gift. 

2. To take pride in our title of Christians, which 
makes us the children of Mary. 

3. To renew our love for Mary. 

4. To have recourse with the most entire confidence 
to our fond Mother. 

5. To consecrate ourselves to her honor in union with 
St. John, who takes her with him to his home. 



FORTY-NINTH MEDITATION 
ABANDONMENT OF JESUS ON THE CROSS 

My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? — 
Matt, xxvii. 46. 

CONSIDERATION 

Let us adore our Lord Jesus Christ suffering incon- 
ceivable pains on the cross; and let us do so in union 
with his desolate Mother, who stands at its foot. Let us 
contemplate his crown of thorns, his pale brow bedewed 
with the sweat of his last agony, his divine countenance 
covered with blood and dust, his livid lips, his tearful 
eyes, his heaving chest, and his gaping wounds ; but par- 
ticularly his pierced hands and feet. Let us think of 
what he now suffers in his soul, when he reflects that he 
is an object of contempt to all and when, as in his agony 
in the Garden of Olives, he mentally reviews the great 
number of sinners who will trample on the blood which 
he is shedding for man's redemption. 

His enemies still cherish the same hatred for him, al- 
though he manifests for them only the most generous 
and the most heroic love. The waters of tribulation have 
failed to quench the fire of charity 1 which consumes his 
divine heart. He is still inflamed with the same desire 
for their salvation. Hence, to impress them with the 
enormity of the crime which they are committing, and 
to lead them to repentance, he causes the earth to quake 
^ant. viii. 7. 
291 



292 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

violently and thereby remind them of the moral convul- 
sion of which they are the authors; for he moves even 
inanimate creatures to testify their horror of the deicide 
which is about to be consummated. 

A thick darkness overspreads the earth and covers it 
as with a pall; the sun veils his splendor; fear takes 
possession of all hearts; the blasphemous words of the 
Pharisees are followed by a terrified silence ; all the ene- 
mies of the Savior feel the dominion of a superior power 
which, by the voice of the elements, reproaches them 
with their crimes. But alas! far from entering into 
themselves, they persist in their criminal dispositions. 

what a subject of pain for Jesus ! He finds no sub- 
ject of consolation, no alleviation of his sufferings; but 
on the contrary, all things combining to aggravate his 
torments. He is absolutely "the Man of Sorrows." 1 
According to the expression of Holy Writ, he has to 
tread alone the winepress of divine justice. 2 Alone 
he must expiate our iniquities, the responsibility of 
which he has assumed before his Father; and therefore 
it is that he suffers this greatest and most heartrending 
pain, — abandonment by his heavenly Father. Let us 
gaze upon his countenance looking heavenward and ex- 
pressing all the distress of his soul ; let us hear him say- 
ing : "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ?" 

What grief he manifests by these mysterious words, 
and what a lesson he teaches us therein ! Till then Jesus 
had uttered no complaint. In allowing this cry to 
escape him, he would have us reflect that his sufferings 
are momentarily aggravated until their accumulated 
weight seems to overwhelm him. He reveals to us that 
"Isai. liii. 3. 2 Ibid. lxiii. 3. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 293 

his chalice is becoming more and more bitter and that 
the agony of Calvary is even more intolerable than that 
of Gethsemane. 

By these words, he invites us to reflect on the cause 
of his sufferings : — "My God," he says, "why hast thou 
forsaken me ?" But he had already said by David : "My 
iniquities are gone over my head ; and as a heavy burden 
are become heavy upon me." 1 These iniquities are our 
sins ; and it is we who are the cause of his utter desola- 
tion. By offending God, we have deserved to be aban- 
doned by him to our own weakness and misery, and to 
the fury of the enemies of our souls. Now the Father 
seeing unfaithful mankind in his Son who is clothed in 
the form of a sinner, appears to abandon him and to 
give no ear to his groanings. 

Jesus suffers this dereliction, to merit for us the grace 
not to be abandoned by divine justice to the most rigor- 
ous and hopeless of all pains, the pain of loss, so justly 
due to our sins. what gratitude do we not owe to our 
generous Eedeemer for suffering this in our stead ! 

By this cry, "My God, my God, why hast thou for- 
saken me?" — Jesus reveals himself as the Messiah an- 
nounced by the prophets, for these are the first words 
of the psalm which best depicts the sorrows that he was 
to endure, and which had traced, a thousand years before, 
the mournful aspect under which he now presents him- 
self. "My God," he had said by the mouth of the royal 
prophet 2 "look upon me: why hast thou forsaken me? 
... my God, I shall cry by day, and thou wilt not 
hear. . . But thou dwellest in the holy place. . . I am a 
worm and no man; the reproach of men, and the out- 
*Ps. xxxvii. 5. 2 Ps. xxi. 1-20. 



294 MEDITATIONS OK THE PASSION 

cast of the people. . . My God, depart not from rne ; for 
tribulation is very near, for there is none to help me. . . 
I am poured out like water ; and all my bones are scat- 
tered. My heart is become like wax melting in the midst 
of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd 
. . . They have dug my hands and feet. They have 
numbered all my bones. . . They parted my garments 
amongst them ; and upon my vesture they cast lots. But 
thou, Lord, remove not thy help to a distance from 
me ; look towards my defence." 

APPLICATION 

Yes, Jesus is indeed, as the prophets saw him, aban- 
doned by all, suffering all manner of pain, enduring a 
most bitter, acute and inconceivable agony of soul and 
body. Let us adore him in the state of abandonment 
in which he is left by God the Father. Let us bear in 
mind that he suffers this on account of our sins, in our 
place, and to merit for us the grace not to be abandoned 
by God. 

Let us, when in a state of spiritual dryness, suffer in 
union with Jesus in his state of desolation. There are 
for us, as for all men, weary hours or, at least, painful 
moments, when earth seems as stone and the heavens as 
brass; when our minds, shrouded in darkness, appear 
unable to conceive even a pious thought ; when the soul, 
oppressed with anguish cries out: "My God, my God, 
why hast thou forsaken me ?" Let us then remember fhe 
abandonment of Jesus on the cross, and in union with 
him let us be patient and resigned. Let us act in the 
same way when we are forsaken, abandoned or even in- 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 295 

suited by men. Let us bear this trial through love for 
our divine Savior, and in atonement for our faults. Let 
us examine into the state of our conscience; and if un- 
fortunately we are in disgrace with God, let us heed the 
cry of our suffering Jesus: "Why hast thou forsaken 
me?" The same words of reproach he addresses us 
when we are in tepidity, when we neglect to visit him in 
his Sacrament, to adore him within ourselves, and to 
attend to his presence ; nay, even when we fail in charity 
towards our brethren, or our pupils. Let us, then, cease 
to give him cause to reproach us. Whatsoever our trials 
may be, let us always be united to him, and devoted to 
his service. 

PEAYEE 

It is just, my divine Savior ! that I have some por- 
tion of thy sufferings, that at least I drink with thee of 
the chalice which I ought to drink alone. I resign my- 
self, therefore, to whatsoever sufferings thou wilt be 
pleased to send me ; even, shouldst thou so ordain, to be 
abandoned to spiritual dryness and aridity. Oh! why 
should I who have sinned so often, and who have so many 
times deserved to be abandoned by God forever, seek 
for interior consolations ? No, no, Lord ! I ask thee not 
for those joys of soul wherewith thou sometimes re- 
wardest thy saints on earth, but for patience to endure 
the privation of them. If it be thy will that I be 
fastened with thee to- the cross, that all my life I be de- 
prived of sensible consolation, I cheerfully submit to it, 
my Jesus, in order that I may become more like to 
thee; and that one day, in the abode where there is 



296 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

neither pain nor sorrow, thou mayest bestow on me that 
supreme felicity which the possession of God secures. 

Besume, page 406. 

Let us contemplate Jesus on the cross : 

1. An impenetrable darkness covers the earth. 

2. The sun is, as it were, veiled in horror of the dei- 
cide which is committing. 

3. The very enemies of Jesus are filled with terror. 

4. He is abandoned by all except Mary and John. 

5. In a sense, he is abandoned by Heaven itself : "My 
God, my God," he cries, "why hast thou forsaken me ?" 

what grief this cry reveals. 

— Yes, Jesus is now in the state in which the prophets 
had seen him. 

1. Let us adore him in his abandonment. 

2. Let us reflect that he suffers this pain to save us 
from being abandoned on account of our sins. 

3. In union with him, let us suffer all spiritual dry- 
ness and all abandonment on the part of men. 

4. If we are in a state of sin, let us listen to Jesus 
saying to us : "Why hast thou forsaken me ?" 

5. Let us hasten to console him by our conversion. 



FIFTIETH MEDITATION 
JESUS SUFFERING THIRST 

I thirst. — John xix. 28. 

CONSIDERATION" 

For more than twelve hours has Jesus been a prey 
to suffering unrelieved by either nourishment or repose. 
His agony in the Garden of Olives, the ill treatment 
which he received in the streets of Jerusalem, in the 
house of Caiphas, and in the palace of Herod; his 
scourging, his crowning with thorns, the insults heaped 
upon him by the governor's soldiers, the carrying of the 
cross, the crucifixion, the shedding of his blood on the 
cross — all have so exhausted his strength, that were he 
not miraculously sustained, he would already be dead. 

And now he feels the most burning thirst. He is 
consumed by an inward fire, which greatly increases his 
frightful torments. Now it is that he can repeat what 
he had said by the mouth of David : "My strength is 
dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue hath cleaved 
to my jaws. . . I am smitten as grass, and my heart is 
withered." 1 

Let us fix our eyes on our divine Savior enduring the 

torments of excessive thirst: let us contemplate his 

parched lips, his inflamed mouth opened to catch the 

cooling air. Let us listen to his labored breathing, and 

*Ps. xxi. 16; ci. 5. 

297 



298 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

read in his eyes the violence of the fever that consumes 
him. What sick person is there, even if he. be among 
the poorest of the poor, who has not, in his last moments, 
at least a little water to quench his thirst? But what 
all men have, our divine Savior wants, and wants at the 
very moment when he needs it most. 

The Lamb immolated for us is now wholly consumed 
on the altar of holocaust, and expiates, hy a particular 
torment, the sins that men have committed by the sense 
of taste. He who is the Source of living waters, the 
mystic Fountain of eternal life, feels a devouring thirst ; 
the God who created the immensity of the ocean is re- 
duced to such extreme misery as to crave a drop of water. 
how great is the pain of our beloved Savior ! a pain 
which he has endured for several hours, without a mur- 
mur, without even uttering a word of complaint. Yet, 
now when about to die, he is going to reveal it, in order 
to inspire us with horror for the sins of sensuality which 
he is expiating, and to fulfill the prophecy: "In my 
thirst they gave me vinegar to drink." 

He says, "I thirst;" and immediately, as if in ful- 
filment of the prophecy, one of the soldiers, dipping a 
sponge in vinegar, puts it on the end of a reed, and 
offers it to our adorable Savior, who presses it with his 
lips. 

"What!" exclaims St. Augustine, "the God of good- 
ness who for us gives the water its coolness and the honey 
its sweetness, receives from the hands of men only vine- 
gar for drink!" With that great saint, let us be filled 
with astonishment and indignation at the cruelty dis- 
played by the enemies of our divine Eedeemer ; and let us 
raise our hearts and minds to other considerations on the 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 299 

spirit of this mystery of the thirst endured by Jesus on 
the cross. 

This thirst is so real, that it is one of his greatest tor- 
ments; but it is also symbolical, and it is especially un- 
der this second aspect that we should meditate upon it. 

By the words "I thirst/* Jesus manifests the intensity 
of his desire for the glory of his Father, the conversion 
of sinners, the perseverance of the just, our progress in 
perfection, the establishment and the supremacy of his 
Church. By them he reminds us of the charity which 
consumes his heart; he craves a return of love for love 
and sacrifice for sacrifice, that we may all attain the 
salvation which he is meriting for us by his sufferings 
and death. 

if we could conceive the intensity of the thirst of 
Jesus, how quickly we would respond to his call ! how 
eagerly we would hasten to offer him the pure water that 
he asks! how faithfully we would correspond with his 
graces, and apply ourselves to become daily more per- 
fect, to maintain and increase in our hearts the fire of 
his holy love ! how zealously we would labor for the sal- 
vation of souls! For Jesus on the cross was devoured 
by thirst for souls, a thirst which he still feels. 

Let us visit him in his holy tabernacle, and ask our- 
selves what are the desires of his heart, and what he asks 
of us. We shall hear him say from the altar as from the 
cross, "I thirst;" I long to see men glorify my Father, 
depart from evil ways, escape from the tyranny of the 
devil, abandon error, attach themselves to truth, labor 
with ardor at the work of their salvation, apply to them : 
selves the fruits of my sacrifice, and merit the eternal 
glory which I have acquired for them. 



300 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

APPLICATION 

Jesus says to us, "I thirst ;" but what effect will these 
words have on our souls? Will they leave us insensible 
and indifferent? or will they excite in our hearts the 
compassion which they ought to inspire ? Above all, will 
they lead us to accomplish our divine Master's will 
which they make known to us ? 

Jesus says to us, "I thirst." What are we going to of- 
fer him ? Shall it be the pure water of sanctity, the gen- 
erous wine of charity ? or shall it be the vinegar and gall 
of tepidity, or infidelity? In the latter case, how un- 
happy we should be ; how cruel to him and to ourselves ; 
how unworthy of his benefits ! Imitators of the Jews, 
we should deserve like them to be rejected by God. 

Let it not be so. Animated by love and gratitude, let 
us satisfy the desires of the heart of Jesus. Let us devote 
ourselves joyfully and unreservedly to the greater glory 
of God the Father, and promote it with the most active 
and disinterested zeal. Let us labor with all our strength 
to make that good Master to whom we have consecrated 
ourselves, known, loved, and served. Let us pray fer- 
vently for the conversion of sinners, the preservation of 
the innocence of children, the increase of piety in our 
Brothers, and the maintenance of regularity in our com- 
munities. 

Above all, let us labor with courage and constancy 
at our own perfection, remembering that this is what 
our divine Savior principally demands of us in calling 
us to his service. Let us behold in him our Master and 
obey him ; our Model, and imitate him. To that end let 
us practise interior and exterior mortification; let us 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 301 

overcome our fallen nature, crucify our passions, and, 
when we suffer any privation, remember that on the 
cross Jesus was deprived of everything, and that in his 
thirst he had only vinegar to drink. 

PKAYEK 

Jesus, divine Lamb, whom I contemplate and adore 
on the altar of holocaust ! holy Victim, who art con- 
sumed with zeal for thy Father's glory and for our sal- 
vation! I have heard thee cry, "I thirst;" I have 
learned that by these mysterious words thou dost mani- 
fest the greatness of the torment which thou endurest,* 
and the intensity of thy desire that all men apply to 
themselves the merits of thy sacrifice, and so work out 
their salvation! 

Grant me, Lord, grace to acquire the spirit of the 
mystery on which thou invitest me to meditate, to com- 
passionate with all my heart the excessive suffering which 
thou dost feel, and to deplore the cruelty of the Jews 
who refuse thee even a little water. Give me with all thy 
saints a deep conviction that thou dost thirst after my 
perfection. Give me especially a firm purpose to relieve 
thy thirst by advancing courageously and constantly 
towards the happiness to which thou callest me, and 
which I hope to attain by the grace which thou didst 
merit for me on the cross. 

Eesume, page 406. 

Prom the time of his departure from the supper-room, 
Jesus had not taken the least nourishment, although he 
had suffered untold pain and sorrow. 

1. His mouth is parched, his stomach inflamed. 



302 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

2. He feels the most burning thirst. 

3. He manifests it by crying out: "I thirst/' 

4. But, as David had foretold, no relief is given him. 

5. His executioners offer him only vinegar. 

Let us compassionate our divine Savior enduring this 
torment ; but let us reflect that this natural thirst which 
consumes him is little compared with the thirst which 
his divine heart feels. 

— Yes, Jesus thirsts: 

1. For the glory of his father. 

2. For the conversion of sinners. 

3. For the perseverance of the just. 

4. For our salvation, for our perfection. 

5. For the establishment of his kingdom throughout 
the whole world. 



FIFTY-FIRST MEDITATION 
JESUS SAYS: "ALL IS CONSUMMATED" 

When Jesus had taken the vinegar, he said, "All is consum- 
mated. " — John xix. 30. 

CONSIDEKATION 

Christian souls, let us go to Calvary, to the foot of 
the cross whereon Jesus is soon to expire. Let us fix 
our eyes on the adorable Victim, at the moment when 
he is about to complete the bloody sacrifice which recon- 
ciles us with his Father. Let us hearken to him uttering 
in a strong voice those words so rich in salutary teach- 
ings : "All is consummated." Let us meditate on them 
attentively, and study their various significations. 

"All is consummated !" — I have accomplished all that 
my Father had decreed for me, all that, as God, I had 
determined to accomplish. I have done the will of him 
who sent me; I have become obedient even unto death, 
the death of the cross. I have fulfilled in every detail 
the mission given me from above. 

"All is consummated I" — All my blood has flowed 
through the wounds wherewith my body is covered; my 
strength is exhausted ; I am suffering my last pains ; my 
life is ending ; the moment is at hand when I shall allow 
death to come upon me. 

"All is consummated!" — I know what the prophets 

303 



304 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

have written of me, and what the Jewish worship pre- 
figured, and I see that every thing relating to me is 
realized. I have accomplished all that was revealed of 
the Messiah: I have been a Man of Sorrows, and ac- 
quainted with infirmit}^; 1 my apparel has been red with 
my blood, 2 I have borne the iniquity of all f my enemies, 
like furious bulls, have besieged me; 4 I have paid that 
which I took not away; 5 waters have flowed over my 
head ; 6 I, the Eoot of Jesse, have stood for an ensign of 
the people ; 7 I have been lifted up as Moses lifted up the 
serpent in the desert; 8 my garments have been divided 
by lot. 9 They have given me gall for my food, and in my 
thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. 10 

"All is consummated!" — The figurative religion has 
ceased; ancient sacrifices have given place to the only 
true sacrifice foretold by the prophet : "In every place 
there is sacrifice, and there is offered to my name a clean 
obligation." 11 

"All is consummated !" — The bloody sacrifice of the 
New Law is ended, the world is redeemed ; I have done 
all that divine justice required ; I have wrought an abun- 
dant, nay, a superabundant redemption; I have amply 
satisfied for all the sins of men; I have paid the price 
of their ransom ; they are now reconciled with God ; the 
sentence of their condemnation is annulled ; the gates of 
Paradise are about to be opened to them. 

"All is consummated !" — I triumph over death and 
hell ; the hour of the powers of darkness is past ; I reign 
henceforth by this wood to which my enemies have 

^sa. liii. 3. 2 I~bid. lxiii. 2. s Ibid. liii. 6. 4 Ps. xxi. 13. 
5 Ibid. lxviii. 5. 6 Lament. iii. 54. 7 Isai. xi. 10. 8 John iii. 14. 
9 Ps. xxi. 19. "Ibid, lxviii. 22. al Mal. i. 11. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 305 

fastened me. This is the sceptre of my power; before 
it all heads shall bow. 

"All is consummated !" — The law of grace has re- 
placed that law of fear; the expectation of nations is ful- 
filled; I have done for men all that my heart inspired; 
I have acquired infinite treasures of merits for them; 
I have supplied them with everything requisite for their 
sanctincation and salvation ; I have finished the work for 
which I came on this earth. Light has shone in dark- 
ness ; I have revealed every truth necessary for humanity ; 
I have founded for all time my holy Church., the pillar of 
truth; I have established my religion which will spread 
over the whole earth and produce the most heroic vir- 
tues. Prom my feet and hands spring four rivers of 
blood which, like the four rivers of the terrestrial para- 
dise, are going to fertilize the world and to call forth 
apostles, martyrs, confessors, virgins, penitents, and 
other saints, beyond the power of man to number. 

"All is consummated !" — Without yielding to either 
impatience or discouragement, I have gone through a 
most painful career, being repeatedly thwarted by the 
contradictions of men. I have been faithful even unto 
death, and, having reached the end of my course, I teach 
all Christians that it is not sufficient to enter on the way 
of salvation, but that to merit the crown, they must per- 
severe even to the end. 

APPLICATION 

As we reflect on the different meanings of these words, 
"All is consummated/' let us impress deeply on our 
minds what Jesus suffered. Let us study the greatness 



306 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

and extent of his sorrows from the moment of his In- 
carnation to that of his death, and let us try to conceive 
the bitterness of the cup which he drained to the dregs. 

Let us reflect that he suffered for us, and let us ask 
ourselves what sentiments of gratitude we should enter- 
tain and by what works we should make them manifest. 

Kneeling at the foot of the cross whereon our Ke- 
deemer is shedding his blood, let us renounce sin and 
renounce it for ever. Let us weep for the faults which 
we have committed; let us ask pardon through the 
superabundant merits of our divine Savior, and let us 
do condign penance for them. 

Jesus has accomplished his part in the work of our 
salvation ; but ours is not yet done. As members* of his 
mystical body, we must share his sufferings, and cour- 
ageously practise mortification, that we may say with 
the Apostle: "I fill up, in my flesh, those things that 
are wanting of the sufferings of Christ." 1 Let us, then, 
prepare ourselves, by a holy and penitential life, for the 
moment when he shall say to us : "All is consummated." 
Happy shall we be if we are then found to be in the 
grace »of God! 

"All is consummated," says the just man when dying : 
"My troubles are over, my trials are at an end, and I am 
about to receive the reward for which I have labored. 
I had to make great efforts, it is true; to be humble, 
obedient, mortified and faithful to all my duties; but, 
now, nothing remains of my troubles but a consoling 
remembrance. God is preparing for me a throne of 
glory, and will give me for my portion the true freedom 
of his children. I am called to the heavenly Jeru- 
Ktol. i. 24. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 307 

salem, I am going to enjoy the vision of my God, to 
contemplate forever the humanity of my divine Re- 
deemer, to dwell with Mary, to sing with the angels and 
saints an eternal hymn of gratitude. Thank God ! all is 
consummated. 1 have fought a good fight; I have 
finished my course: I have kept the faith; for the rest, 
there is laid up for me a crown of justice/ "* 

"All is consummated," shall the dying sinner say: 
"My life is at an end: pleasures, honors, riches, luxu- 
ries, banquets, worldly joys — all is over for me ! I leave 
all that I have loved, and I take with me only the sins 
of which I am guilty, and for which I shall be con- 
demned. . . 'AH is consummated/ Hell is henceforth 
my only portion. I have now to endure that fiery tor- 
ment which is never to end." 

Soon shall we, too, say : "All is consummated !" Shall 
these words then signify that we have done all that God 
had ordained for us, all that he had demanded of us by 
our holy Eules, all that he had prescribed by our 
superiors ? or, on the contrary, shall they signify that we 
have abused his graces and neglected the means of salva- 
tion which he has offered us? Let us reflect that the 
answer will be determined by the life which we are now 
leading and on that which we may lead in future. 

PRAYER 

Lord, continue and complete the work of my 

salvation, which is also thy work; it has cost thee so 

much that thou canst not leave it imperfect. I know 

that although thy passion was consummated by thee, 

*2 Tim. iv. 7, 8. 



308 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

it will not open Heaven to me at the hour of my death 
unless I have been made like unto thee by practising 
mortification and so sharing in thy sufferings. I beseech 
thee, by the merits of thy passion and death, grant that, 
an imitation of thy apostle, I may keep the faith in all 
its purity, sustain it by good works, and finish my course 
in the way of virtue. 

Eesume, page 407. 

Jesus, when about to die, cries out: "All is consum- 
mated !" 

That is to say: 

1. I have accomplished the will of my heavenly 
Father, and satisfied his justice. 

2. The prophecies are fulfilled. 

3. The figurative religion is at an end. 

4. The world is redeemed ; the Evil One is van- ' 
quished. 

5. The Church is founded to last forever. 

— Meditating on the different meanings of these 
words, "All is consummated." 

1. Let us reflect on what Jesus suffered for our salva- 
tion. 

2. Let us be grateful to him, and testify it by our 
works. 

3. Let us renounce sin forever. 

4. Let us enter upon the way of justice and persevere 
therein. 

5. Let us remember that soon we too shall say : "All 
is consummated." 

Shall we say it, like the just, with sentiments of joy, 
or like the sinner, with tears and in accents of despair ? 



* FIFTY-SECOND MEDITATION 
JESUS COMMENDS HIS SOUL TO HIS FATHER 

Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.— Luke xxiii. 46. 

CONSIDERATION 

Behold the moment when the most gracious, the most 
holy, and the most admirable life ever lived on this 
earth, is about to end in a most ignominious death. 
Our divine Redeemer is going to finish on the cross 
the long and painful combat in which he has been 
engaged for our salvation. He has nothing more to 
do but return after his innumerable toils and suffer- 
ings to rest in the bosom of his heavenly Father. 

Yet, before dying, or rather in dying, he still speaks 
to men and gives them the most sublime instructions. 
Let us gather at the foot of his cross and listen in 
sentiments of the most profound reverence to his last 
words, which he speaks in a loud voice, as if to impress 
them deeply on our minds, to move us to ponder them 
in our hearts, and not merely to repeat them with our 
lips. 

The Gospel relates that Jesus, after saying, "All is 
consummated !" cries out: "Father, into thy hands I 
commend my spirit." He addresses his Father. He 
does not say as before, "My God, my God, why hast 
thou forsaken me ?" but exclaims with entire confidence, 
"Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit." These 

309 



310 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

words are not only the last clause of his testament ; they 
are also a perfect act of adoration paid by his holy 
humanity to God the Father. At the last supper, Jesus 
gave to men his body and blood under the species of 
bread and wine; on Calvary, he bequeathed to them 
his Blessed Mother, at the very time when he was sacri- 
ficing his life for them. He has nothing left now but 
his soul/ and this he offers to him from whom 
he received it — to God who is the beginning of 
all things, and to whom, therefore, all must re- 
turn. 

how lovingly our heavenly Father receives the 
soul which Jesus resigns into his hands — that soul 
which is hypostatically united to the divinity, and 
which is radiant with all the splendor of the Word, 
that soul which infinitely loved and glorified him, that 
soul which had no thought, no desire, no will but for 
his glory! 

By the soul which Jesus gives up to his Father, we 
are to understand not only the perfect spirit which, 
with his sacred body, constitutes his holy humanity, 
but likewise all the faithful who are united to him; 
for, says St. Paul, "he who adheres to the Lord, is one 
spirit with him." 1 Hence, as St. Athanasius affirms, 
when the Son of God commends his soul into the hands 
of his Father, he commends to him at the same time all 
those who are members of his mystical body, and who 
are animated by his spirit. 

how great should be our gratitude to Jesus, our 
divine Head ! He has commended our souls to his 
Father, he has resigned them into his hands! God, 
*1 Cor. vi. 17. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 311 

who hears him always/ will, therefore, receive them; 
he will preserve them, fill them with joy and happiness 
and one day re-unite them to our bodies, which will 
thereby become living and glorious. 

Let us then re-animate our hope. Jesus is our Head 
and our Model. What he does in that capacity he en- 
joins on us, and he has merited for us the grace to 
do it. We, too, can therefore say with sweet confidence 
at the moment of death: "Father, into thy hands I 
commend my spirit," and sincerely trust that God will 
receive it, as he received that of his adorable Son, with 
which it is united by the bond of charity. 

Jesus Christ is our Eedeemer. He destroyed sin 
which sets our souls at enmity with God. There is, 
therefore, nothing now to prevent them from being 
admitted by God, immediately after death, into the 
possession of the infinite happiness which they are 
destined to enjoy. Each one of us may now desire, 
with St. Paul, to be loosed from the bonds of this 
body, 2 in order to dwell with our Lord in the bosom of 
his heavenly Father. 

Jesus Christ is our Master. By his word on the 
cross, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit," 
he teaches us that death is not destruction, but only 
a separation of soul from body; that the soul, coming 
from God, is to return to God; that the acceptance of 
death is truly an act of adoration whereby we acknowl- 
edge God as the Sovereign Lord of all things, as our 
beginning and our end, as the Creator from whom we 
have received our souls and to whom we ought to yield 
them up. 

'John xi. 42. 2 Phil. i. 23. 



312 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION* 

By these words, lie also teaches us that of itself death 
is not to be dreaded; that it is, in. reality, but the 
happy moment when the faithful Christian gives back 
his soul to him from whom he received it; when he 
returns to his Father and with entire confidence casts 
himself into his arms; when he says with Jesus who 
then assists him with special grace, "Father, into thy 
hands I commend my spirit. Eemember that it is 
the breath of thy mouth, the price of thy Son's blood, 
the fruit of his labors. Vouchsafe, I beseech thee, to 
welcome it to the home of thy clemency." 

Happy the Christian who, in his last moments, is in 
these dispositions ! He does sweet violence to God by 
this absolute confidence and this union with his dying 
Savior whose merits he applies to himself. He begins 
with the words, "Father, into thy hands I commend 
my spirit," the song of gratitude which he will continue 
in heaven. 

APPLICATION 

Let us often think of that last hour when we must 
give up our souls to our Maker. In truth, the sole 
occupation of a Christian should be to dispose himself 
to render an account of his life to God on the day when 
he shall end it. That day will soon come for each of 
us : let us think of this and be ready. 

When we shall press the crucifix to our dying lips, 
let us repeat those words of Jesus on the cross, which 
will then naturally suggest themselves and which form 
part of the prayer for the agonizing: "Father, into 
thy hands I commend my spirit." But, that we may 
then pronounce them with confidence, we must, during 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 313 

the course of our life, frequently and piously repeat 
them, at the same time abandoning ourselves interiorly 
to God. Each one of us must say to him, from the 
bottom of his heart : "Father, into thy hands I commend 
my spirit, with all its thoughts, its desires, and its fears. 
Dispose of me as thou wilt: I abandon myself to thy 
Providence. In whatever state thou mayest place me, 
whatever trials thou mayest send me, with whatever 
tribulations thou mayest afflict me, I will still bless thy 
holy name." 

We must imitate Jesus Christ, doing exactly and 
lovingly all that his Father demands of us, that by his 
grace we too may be able to say with him: "All is con- 
summated, all is accomplished that was commanded us." 

We must be more and more closely united with our 
divine Mediator, and be solidly grounded in his charity. 
We must, moreover, persevere therein, live his life, act 
as he would act in our place, animate ourselves with 
the same motives, and propose to ourselves the same 
ends. We must be one with him, so that the soul of 
each of us may belong truly to his mystical soul. Being 
in one sense his, he may then say of it, at the hour of 
death: "Father, into thy hands I commend this soul 
which is mine and which I have saved." 

Let us earnestly ask for this union with him. His 
Father, then recognizing him in us, will receive our souls 
as he received his, and admit them among the blessed 
and the angelic host to the enjoyment of eternal bliss. 

PEAYEE 

Jesus, adorable Victim., remember that on the 
cross thou didst recommend my soul to God with those 



314 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

of all who believe in thee, and who are thy members. 
I beseech thee by thy sacred wounds, by thy precious 
blood, and by thy ignominious death, grant that thy 
prayer may have its full efficacy in my regard. Save 
my soul; consider it as thine; and, at my death, come, 
generous Eedeemer, to present it to thy Father, and 
ask him to receive it with infinite clemency. Amen. 

Kesume, page 407. 

Jesus pronounces his last words: "Father, into thy 
hands I commend my spirit." 

Let us consider that, by these words, 

1. He commends his soul to his Father. 

2. He commends to him also the souls of all men. 

3. He proclaims the immortality of the human soul. 

4. He strengthens us against the fear of death. 

5. He leads us to the most filial confidence in God. 
— Let us, as the fruit of this meditation, resolve : 

1. To think often of death. 

2. To pray for the grace of a happy death. 

3. To recite, for that end, the prayer of Jesus on 
the cross. 

4. To be more closely united with our dear Savior. 

5. To make but one with him in order that our soul 
being, as it were, one with his, each of us also may be 
able to say at the moment of death, "Father, into thy 
hands I commend my spirit." 



FIFTY-THIRD MEDITATION 
JESUS DIES ON THE CROSS 

Bowing his head, he gave up the ghost. — John xix. 30. 

CONSIDERATION 

Let us go in spirit to Calvary, and draw near the 
cross, the altar of the great sacrifice. Let us contem- 
plate the divine Lamb expiring thereon to take away 
the sins of the world. His last moment is nigh; the 
bloody sacrifice effecting our reconciliation with God is 
almost completed ; he who is at once Priest and Victim 
gives himself up to death. "Jesus," says the evangelist, 
"bowing his head, gave up the ghost." what a sub- 
ject for meditation ! what lessons he teaches us ! what 
sentiments such a spectacle ought to excite in our 
hearts ! 

Jesus bows his head to show that he adores the 
decrees of heaven, that he is resigned to die, that he 
accepts death in order to accomplish the will of his 
Father. "He humbled himself," says St. Paul, "be- 
coming obedient unto death, even the death of the 
cross." 1 He bows his head in submission to death ; for 
death, as St. Athanasius says, would not have dared 
approach the Lord of life, if he had not himself sum- 
moned it. Finally, he bows his head to give us the 
kiss of peace and reconciliation. 
1 Phil. ii. 8. 

315 



316 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

Jesus bows his head, and dies. . . . Jesus is dead ! 
What a subject for astonishment, grief and tears ! Jesus, 
the Author of life, the Father of the world to come, 
the Son of the living God, is dead! . . . Jesus, our 
Master, the Spouse of our souls, the only object of our 
love, is dead ! and dead on the cross ! 

Christian souls, contemplate the sacred body of 
your divine Savior fastened to the wood of the cross; 
behold his head bowed down towards the earth, his 
blood-stained brow, his darkened eyes, his closed mouth. 
Contemplate that face once so beautiful, reflecting, as 
it did, a divine soul, but now pale and disfigured. 
"Consider," says St. Bonaventure, "that crown of 
thorns and those murderous nails, those wounds in his 
hands and feet, his body covered with bruises, and his 
mangled flesh; and learn from these tokens how much 
Jesus has loved you." 

Yes, let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus dead on the 
cross. Let us contemplate him in union with Mary, 
the most desolate, of all mothers, who at this moment 
suffers the greatest of all her sorrows. Let us, like 
Magdalen, contemplate him with sentiments of ardent 
love and also of lively repentance for our faults, the 
true cause of his death. Let us contemplate him, like 
the soldiers who crucified him, and who, as soon as he 
expired, struck their breasts and confessed that he was 
truly the Son of God. 

Jesus is God! Why, then, should his life be thus 
sacrificed? Wherefore did he die, who is the Author 
of life, and is Innocence itself? It is because, in his 
charity and generosity, he would pay to God his Father 
infinite homage in reparation for the outrages that we 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 317 

have offered to his divine Majesty; because he would 
deliver us from the death that we had merited, open 
to us heaven closed by the first sin of mankind, confirm 
the testament that he had made in our favor, and put 
us in possession of all the treasures of grace. 

Jesus is dead, because he has had pity on us sinners ; 
because^ notwithstanding our sins, he has loved us, 
and so loved us as to prefer us to himself. His death, 
therefore, is the work both of our iniquity and of his 
love. How great should be the gratitude and how sincere 
the contrition which it should excite in our hearts! 

Jesus, since thy death is my work, I will always 
deplore it; but since it is also the work of thy charity 
for me, I will love thee in return, with all the affection 
of which I am capable. I will open my heart to hope, 
for thy sacrifice is the beginning of my happiness, my 
reconciliation with God, my restoration to the state 
from which I had fallen by sin. 

Jesus is dead; but Jesus represented all mankind. 
The warrant that condemned us all to die has been 
executed on him; but henceforth that warrant is an- 
nulled in our regard. Consequently, if we are 
united to Jesus Christ, the death which we ought all 
to undergo is no longer a punishment, but rather a 
reward; since, by it, we enter into the enjoyment of 
the glory acquired for us by our divine Eedeemer. 

Jesus is dead ! therefore his work is accomplished ; 
earth is reconciled with heaven. God, whose justice 
is satisfied, again recognizes men as his beloved chil- 
dren; the way of salvation is open to all peoples. The 
Church is founded, the sacraments are instituted. The 
(seed of truth is sown on earth; it is fertilized by the 



318 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

divine blood that flowed from the cross, ft will take 
root and propagate itself over the whole earth. The 
Jewish worship is abolished, the prophetic religion has 
lost its significance; the Ancient Covenant is replaced 
by the New; the veil of the temple which concealed the 
tabernacle and the holy of holies, is suddenly rent from 
top to bottom, for why should that veil be drawn when 
the true Holy of holies, is exposed on the cross on 
Calvary, before the eyes of the whole world? 

APPLICATION 

Let us adore the dead body of Jesus fastened to the 
wood of the cross, and let us admire the ineffable 
prodigy of grace which has just been wrought. 
mystery which to the Jews is a stumbling-block, and 
to the gentiles foolishness I 1 The Just One has sacri- 
ficed himself for sinners, the Master for his. slaves! 
a God has died for man ! Yes, Jesus is dead for us ; but 
he is deprived of life by us sinners, the true authors of 
his immolation. None of us can say: "I am innocent 
of the blood' of this Just Man." 2 Let us, then, bewail 
our transgressions, and, at the foot of the cross, resolve 
to repent of them sincerely and never more commit 
them. 

At the thought of our Savior's death, let us revive 
in our hearts the hope of pardon. Whatever may be 
our faults, let us trust that our heavenly Father will 
show us mercy in virtue of the infinite merits of the 
death of his adorable Son. 

Let us often picture to our minds Jesus dead on the 
v *1 Cor. i. 23. 2 Matt, xxvii. 24. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 319 

cross, because we shall thereby produce good fruit in 
our souls. Let us be particularly attentive to this 
during the holy Sacrifice of the Mass, when as Priest 
and Victim, he continues to offer to God, for our sal- 
vation, the merits of his death on Calvary. 

Let us pause before the mysterious wood of the cross, 
for to it is fastened the body of him who "made him- 
self a curse for us," 1 and let it measure the depth of 
the love and gratitude we owe him. How can we con- 
template him on the cross without being penetrated 
with sentiments of the liveliest affection, without being 
led to devote ourselves unreservedly to him and to 
cherish no other desire than that of sacrificing ourselves 
for his glory! 

Let us ask, through the merits of his death, a spirit 
of true penance and the grace to grow more and more 
perfect in his charity until he shall call us to another 
life to enjoy the fruits of his redemption. 

PEAYEE 

Jesus, my beloved Savior, whom I contemplate 
dead on the bloody altar of Calvary, behold the senti- 
ments that engage my soul. When I consider thee, my 
heart is broken with grief, my soul gives vent to its 
feelings in sighs and groans; tears flow down my 
cheeks and, like those of Magdalen, mingle with thy 
blood at the foot of the cross. 

Yes, Lord, I understand how unfortunate I have 
been in offending thee. I will ever bewail my unfaith- 
fulness as the true cause of thy immolation. But, 
*Gal. iii. 13. 



320 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

my Jesus, I will also hope in thee, for I know that thou 
didst undergo death to restore me to life. 

divine Savior, grant that I may participate in the 
fruits of thy immolation. Eemember that it was for 
me thou didst expire on the cross, and cast me not 
away. Grant that my soul, which has cost thee so 
much, may be delivered from the evil from which thou 
didst come to free it; and that one day, near thy glori- 
ous throne in heaven, I may be admitted to pay thee 
homage for my perseverance, and to sing with the 
saints the undying song of gratitude and love. 

Besume, page 408. 

The last moment has come : Jesus bows his head and 
expires. 

Let us contemplate him as Mary and John then con- 
templated him, and yield to all the sentiments which 
the subject inspires. 

Let us reflect that Jesus died : 

1. To satisfy divine justice. 

2. To reconcile us with heaven. 

3. To give us a new life. 

4. To show his love for us. 

5. To found the Church and thereby save the human 
race. 

— In meditating on these thoughts, 

1. Let us adore Jesus dead on the cross. 

2. Let us weep over him, let us weep over our sins. 

3. Let us revive in our hearts the hope of pardon. 

4. Let us love Jesus with all our hearts, and seek 
only his love. Let us bless his infinite generosity. 

5. Let us ask, through the merits of his death, the 
grace of a happy death. 



FIFTY-FOURTH MEDITATION 
THE BODY OF JESUS PIERCED BY THE SPEAR 

They shall look on him whom they pierced. — John xix. 37. 

CONSIDEKATION 

Keferring to the manner of his death, Jesus had 
said : "When I shall be lifted up from the earth, I will 
draw all things to myself;" 1 and at the very moment 
when he expires on the cross, he fulfils this prediction. 
The veil of the temple is rent from top to bottom, to 
signify that all the ancient sacrifices are abolished, and 
that there is henceforth but one sacrifice, that of the 
cross. The earth trembles, the rocks are split asunder, 
sepulchres open; even inanimate nature manifests its 
horror of the crime committed. 

The centurion standing at the foot of the cross, and 
the soldiers who keep guard over Jesus, affrighted by 
what they see, give glory to God, saying, "Indeed, this 
was a just man." 2 The vast multitude of spectators 
departs, each one striking his breast/ and deploring 
the deicide of which his nation has been guilty. Prom 
this very moment, the Savior's death is productive of 
sanctiflcation. Jesus draws souls to himself by the 
way of penance. He bestows from the cross number- 
less graces on men who, according to the prophecy of 

1T ohn xii. 32. 2 Luke xxiii. 47; Matt, xxvii. 54. 

3 Luke xxiii. 48. 

321 



322 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

Isaiah, "shall draw waters with joy from the Savior's 
fountains/' 1 fountains that are opened to them by each 
wound of the divine Victim. But soon another shall 
be opened in his heart, the source and plenitude of all 
graces. Love had inspired every action of Jesus; love 
had led him to a most cruel and ignominious death; 
but he is about to manifest in a most admirable man- 
ner that love is stronger than death. 

As the sabbath of the Pasch is at hand, the Jews 
ask Pilate to have the legs of Jesus and the thieves 
broken, so that their bodies may not remain exposed 
on a day so solemn. 

Accordingly, soldiers come and break the legs of 
both the thieves, in order to hasten their death. But 
when they approach Jesus, seeing that he is already dead, 
they refrain from breaking his legs, and thus accom- 
plish what was decreed concerning the Paschal Lamb, 
the figure of the divine Victim: "Neither shall you 
break a bone thereof." 2 

But it was likewise written: "They shall look upon 
me whom they have pierced;" 3 and these words are 
about to be fulfilled. A soldier approaches the cross, 
and piercing with his lance the side of Jesus, makes a 
deep wound, whence issue blood and water. 4 

With the saints, let us contemplate the wound in the 
side of Jesus. Let us even penetrate to the sacred 
heart which it discloses, and which was pierced by the 
lance. We shall then realize that the heart of our 
Savior is the focus of purest love, the furnace of 
divine charity. Love was the principle of its every 

^sai. xii. 3. 2 Exod. xii. 46. 3 Zach. xii. 10. 

Mohn xix. 34. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 323 

motion, and, though stilled in death, it is nevertheless 
about to give us a precious pledge of love; it is 
about to open in order to communicate to us its 
treasures of grace, and to shed on the earth the last 
drops of precious blood and of purifying and sanctify- 
ing water, which it contains. 

This divine heart is the model not only of charity, 
but likewise of all other virtues. Jesus had said: 
"Learn of me, for I am meek and humble of heart," 1 
thus inviting all men to study the perfections of his 
sacred heart. Let us, then, try to enter into his views 
while we are contemplating him dead on the cross. 

Let us ask ourselves to what a degree of perfection 
the divine Lamb who is slain on the altar of the great 
sacrifice, practised the virtue of meekness. Let us re- 
flect on the extent to which the Son of God, the 
Incarnate Word, carried the virtue of humility; he 
was crucified between two thieves, loaded with impre- 
cations, degraded, insulted, mocked, overwhelmed with 
contempt, and at last gave up his life on an infamous 
gibbet ! 

The heart of Jesus is the seat of goodness, tenderness, 
and compassion. He lowered himself to our condition 
that he might soothe and console us ; he shared all our 
pains and troubles. At sight of the crimes and the 
indifference of men, his soul was oppressed with sor- 
row. He wept over Jerusalem, over impenitent sinners, 
over all miseries and misfortunes. 

The heart of Jesus is our asylum, our refuge, and our 
defence. There we are beyond the reach of the thun- 
ders of an avenging God, and the strokes of his justice 
iMatt. xi. 29. 



324 MEDITATIONS OK THE PASSIOK 

irritated by our sins. There the enemies 9f our salva- 
tion may not enter, for it is an impregnable fortress, 
against the base of which all their efforts are broken. 
In it is the "cleft of the rock" where the dove is shel- 
tered from the pursuit of the vulture. 1 Happy are they 
who, like St. Elzear, can say : "I dwell in the wound in 
the side of Jesus, in his very heart ! There I take up 
my abode." There my soul is in safety; there it finds 
the sweetest repose and tastes the most delicious peace. 
divine heart, hypostatically united to the Word, 
seat of infinite love ! heart worthy of the homage 
of heaven and earth, and before which all nations shall 
bow down ! heart through which our homage be- 
comes acceptable to God ! mediating heart through 
which all our acts of love and piety reach the heavenly 
Father! generous heart, neither repelled nor dis- 
couraged by contradiction and ingratitude, heart 
answering insults only with benefits, heart that has so 
loved men as to sacrifice itself even for its enemies ! 
Can we consider thee and not be transported with the 
desire of responding fully to thy love for us, devoting 
ourselves to thy worship, blessing and glorifying thee, 
and laboring unceasingly to increase the number of 
thy faithful worshippers? 

APPLICATION 

As we meditate on this subject, let us think of the 

sorrow felt by the most holy heart of Mary when she 

saw the sacred heart of Jesus pierced with a lance. 

Her heart was one with the heart of her divine Son, 

K&nt. ii. 14. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 325 

and thus it was that she too was pierced with the iron 
of the lance. Then the prophecy of the aged Simeon 
was realized: "Thine own soul a sword shall pierce." 1 

Let us behold our divine Mother receiving the 
precious blood flowing from the heart of Jesus, while 
she adores the justice of his heavenly Father which is 
now satisfied, and blesses the infinite goodness of our 
Savior in effecting a superabundant redemption and 
manifesting it by the copious shedding of his blood 
after the words : "All is consummated." 2 

Let us adore the fifth wound of Jesus, and meditate 
on its significancy for all true disciples of our dear 
Savior. Let us regard it as the source of grace, the 
refuge of sinners, the voice that most eloquently pro- 
claims to us the infinite goodness of Jesus and his love 
for us. 

Let us offer to his divine Heart a fitting homage 
of adoration, love, and gratitude. In union with a 
great number of pious souls, let us venerate it in a 
very particular manner on the first Friday of every 
month; let us receive it in holy Communion, lovingly 
contemplate the representation of' it, meditate on its 
tenderness, invoke it with fervor, and apply ourselves 
to the work of forming our hearts to its likeness. 

PEAYEE 

<c l thank thee, Jesus, for the wound which thou 

didst receive on the cross after thy death. It was thy 

love that, guiding the lance in the soldier's hand, 

opened with it thy side and thy sacred heart, the un- 

^uke ii. 35. 2 John xix. 30. 



326 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

failing source of sweetness and tenderness. Blessed 
be that saving and most holy wound; blessed be the 
adorable blood and saving water that flowed therefrom 
to wash away our sins. 

"0 good Jesus, wash me, a sinner, in that sanctifying 
water; inebriate me with thy precious blood; and when 
my soul shall depart from this world, give me, as 
viaticum, one drop of that divine drink. By thy 
wounded heart, I beseech thee, most loving Jesus, 
pierce my heart with an arrow of thy love, that no 
longer having any earthly affection, it may be wholly 
subject to the all-powerful influence of thy heavenly 
charity." 1 

Eesume, page 408. 

Jesus is dead ; but some drops of blood yet remain in 
his heart. 

1. He wishes to shed them for us. 

2. A soldier approaches the cross. 

3. He pierces with a lance the side of the divine 
Victim. 

4. The iron penetrates even to the Sacred Heart. 

5. From the wound stream forth water and blood. 
— In union with all the saints, fet us meditate on 

this mystery. 

1. Let us think of the sufferings of Mary at this 
moment, and let us compassionate her sorrow. 

2. Let us behold her gathering the adorable blood 
which issued from the heart of Jesus. 

3. In union with her, let us adore the fifth wound 
of the Savior. 

4. Let us consider that it is for us a source of new 
graces, a refuge from the terror of divine justice. 

5. Let us regard it as a voice proclaiming the infinite 
goodness and love of Jesus. 

1 Prayer of St. Gertrude. 



FIFTY-FIFTH MEDITATION 
THE FIVE WOUNDS 

They have pierced my hands and my feet. — Ps. xxi. 17. 

CONSIDEBATION 

Let us go to Calvary and there contemplate the 
inanimate body of our divine Kedeemer fastened to 
the cross. Let us look upon the innumerable wounds 
which cover it from head to foot; let us lovingly study 
that august head bowed down towards the earth, that 
adorable face soiled, bruised, and disfigured; those 
glassy eyes, those lips cold in death. Let us behold 
that divine body, bloody, mangled and almost dismem- 
bered; let us meditate upon the state to which our 
beloved Eedeemer has reduced himself, the state in 
which the prophets saw him, 1 with no soundness in his 
flesh, and his bones so exposed to view that they may 
be numbered ! 

At this sight, how can we restrain our pent-up feel- 
ings, and withhold our tears? Let us, then, shed tears 
of compassion, of sorrow, and of love. Let us weep at 
the foot of the cross and in the presence of our God, 
who has been sacrificed for us ; let us fix our gaze upon 
his sacred body nailed to the cross and covered with 
wounds. Let us consider more particularly the wounds 
in his hands and feet and sacred side, since it is of 
^sai. i. 6; Ps. xxi. 18. 
327 



328 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

these that Jesus will vouchsafe to preserve the marks 
after his glorious resurrection, and since the Church 
presents them for our special veneration. 

Let us ask our divine Savior: "Whence come these 
wounds that I see in thy hands, in thy feet, and in 
thy side ?" and he will answer by the prophet Zachary : 
"With these I was wounded in the house of them that 
loved me." 1 Let us learn from this, first of all, that 
these wounds are our work, that they are the result of 
the sins by which we have offended him. Alas ! we 
have committed a great number by our hands and feet; 
and hence it is that the hands and feet of our divine 
Savior were pierced with nails. In like manner, our 
heart has been the seat of many inordinate affections; 
and on that account the heart of Jesus was pierced with 
a lance, and shed its last drops of expiating blood and 
purifying water. 

Let the sight of the sacred wounds of Jesus excite in 
us, therefore, the liveliest contrition, and inspire us 
with the greatest horror of sin ; let it also remind us of 
all that our adorable Eedeemer suffered to save us. 
For, are not the five wounds of Jesus eloquent voices 
reminding us of his sufferings, of the tortures of his 
crucifixion, and all the torments that he endured during 
the long hours that he remained on the cross? While 
contemplating those sacred wounds, how can we fail 
in love and gratitude towards him whose generosity, 
devotedness, and infinite love they proclaim so loudly? 

The five wounds are for us a motive of unbounded 
confidence in the mercy of God and the assistance of 
his grace; they are so many mouths pleading in our 
1 Zach. xiii. 6. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 329 

behalf before God. By them, Jesus tells his Father 
that he has expiated our crimes, that he has, by the 
shedding of his blood, paid all that guilty man owed 
divine justice; that he has, therefore, the right to 
demand pardon for our iniquities. what a source of 
consolation for us who are so justly affrighted at the 
thought of the power and the holiness of the God whom 
we have offended! Yes, we may now ask and obtain 
our pardon, for the wounds of Jesus will ask and obtain 
it for us. 

They are a secure asylum to which we may flee. 
There the shafts of heavenly vengeance cannot pene- 
trate, nor can the evil spirit who would fain destroy 
us; for they are the glorious monuments of his defeat 
and of the victory of Jesus over hell. 

The Savior's wounds, through which flowed the 
saving blood, are also the channels through which the 
graces of salvation are poured forth upon men now 
and shall continue to be poured forth till the end of 
time. Christians who contemplate them with faith, 
feel that from them comes a secret strength which 
disposes them to virtue, to the generous practice of 
mortification, to the renunciation of pleasure, and to 
the verification in themselves of those words of St. 
Paul: "The world is crucified to me, and I to the 
world." 1 

These wounds are ornaments of the now glorified 
body of Jesus, whose holy humanity is radiant in 
heaven with divine splendor. They are a subject of 
blissful contemplation to the elect; they add to the 
happiness which the blessed shall enjoy forever. how 
HS-al. vi. 14. 



330 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

ardently we should desire to be admitted, like them, 
to contemplate them ! With what courage should we 
not dispose ourselves to practise the virtues that will 
merit for us that happiness ! 

Moreover, all men shall one day see those adorable 
wounds, for Jesus will show them to the whole universe 
at that final moment when the words of Zachary shall 
be fully accomplished : "They shall look on him whom 
they have pierced;" 1 and when those of St. John in 
the Apocalypse shall in like manner be fulfilled; "Be- 
hold, he cometh with the clouds ; and every eye shall 
see him, and they that pierced him." 2 

APPLICATION 

What shall be our sentiments when we contemplate 
those sacred wounds on the great day when our divine 
Savior will show them to the whole universe? Shall 
they fill us with joy, or plunge us into despair? If we 
would then contemplate them with joy, let us often, 
in this life, consider them as motives of sincere sorrow 
for our sins; and, if possible, let us keep them ever 
present to our minds. Let us ask this grace through 
the intercession of Mary, and say to her with the 
Church : 

"0 may the wounds of thy dear Son, 
Our contrite hearts possess alone." 3 

Let us also remember that, as Christians, we ought 
to reproduce in ourselves the life and sufferings of 
^ach. xii. 10. 2 Apoc. i. 7. 3 Hymn Stabat Mater. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 331 

Jesus, our Head and our Model. Let us ask ourselves 
then, what means we take to keep those sacred wounds 
before our minds. How happy we should be if it were 
by a penitential and mortified life ! 

Let us often have the crucifix before our eyes, and 
press it to our heart and our lips. Let us kiss with 
lively faith and deep respect the marks of the five 
wounds; and in sentiments of love and confidence, let 
us ask, through each of them, some special grace. 

PEAYEE 

Jesus, my generous Eedeemer, who callest me at 
this moment to contemplate thy five wounds, the tokens 
of thy sufferings and thy infinite love, behold me before 
thee, full of sorrow, indeed, for my sins, but also of 
confidence because thou hast offered satisfaction for 
me to the God w^hom I have offended. Hear the prayer 
which I now address thee when, meditating on thy 
holy passion, I excite in my soul sentiments of lively 
hope. 

1 adore the sacred wound in thy right hand; and 
by it I beseech thee to bestow thy most abundant favors 
on our holy Father the Pope and on all our superiors. 

I adore the sacred wound in thy left hand; and by 
it I recommend to thee my relatives, my Brothers, and 
my pupils, to whom I beseech thee to grant special 
graces for their salvation. 

I adore the sacred w^ound in thy right foot; and by 
it I ask of thee the perseverance of the just and the 
maintenance of all religious in the way of perfection. 

I adore the sacred wound in thy left foot; and by 



332 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

it I ask of thee, Jesus, the conversion of sinners and 
the deliverance of the souls in purgatory. 

I adore the sacred wound in thy side; and by it I 
commend to thee our holy mother the Church, and I 
supplicate thy mercy for myself. Jesus, let me enter 
into thy open side, penetrate to thy divine heart, and 
by sincere love establish myself therein to dwell there 
for evermore. 

Eesume, page 409. 

Let us contemplate the innumerable wounds of the 
body of Jesus dead on the cross ; above all, let us dwell 
on those of his hands and feet, and that of his side. 

1. They are our work, the work of our sins. 

2. They are, nevertheless, voices asking pardon for us. 

3. They are asylums for repentant sinners. 

4. They are channels whereby the graces of salvation 
flow over the earth. 

5. They are the glorious ornaments of the Savior's 
humanity. They shall constitute the joy of the elect, 
whilst, for the reprobate, they shall be forever a cause 
of despair. 

— Penetrated with these thoughts, 

1. Let us weep over our sins and do penance for 
them. 

2. Let us revive in our hearts the hope of pardon. 

3. Let us, by mortification, reproduce in ourselves 
the sacred wounds of the Savior. 

4. Let us kiss the marks of them on our crucifix. 

5. Let us ask through each of them a special grace. 



FIFTY-SIXTH MEDITATION 
JESUS IS TAKEN DOWN FROM THE CROSS 

Taking him down from the cross, they laid him in a sepulchre. 
— Acts xiii. 29. 

CONSIDEKATION 

Jesus, the Author of life, has voluntarily suffered a 
most cruel death on the cross and has consummated the 
great mystery of our redemption. His heart has been 
pierced with a lance, and the last drops of divine blood 
contained therein have trickled down, hallowing the 
ground on which they fell. 

Let us hasten to the mountain of the great Sacrifice, 
to the altar whereon the Lamb of God is slain. Mary, 
the august Mother of our generous Eedeemer, is adoring 
the holy Victim and offering him to his heavenly Father 
with mingled sentiments of bitter sorrow and ardent 
love. The angels are forming a body-guard round the 
sacred body which is still hanging on the cross, and are 
paying it the homage of their adoration. The beloved 
disciple and the holy women linger, unable to leave the 
divine Crucified, the sole object of their love. 

The day is drawing to a close, and the moment is nigh 
when the body of our divine Master must be buried, lest 
it be taken down from the cross by his enemies and ig- 
nominiously cast into the same grave with the two 
thieves. But let us not fear. That immaculate flesh 
shall not be confounded with the bodies of sinners; for 

333 



334 MEDITATIONS OX THE PASSION 

it must know no corruption, not even by contact. God, 
who will glorify it according to the degree to which it 
has been humbled, inspires Joseph of Arimathea, a just 
man and secret disciple of the Savior, to go boldly to 
Pilate and ask him for the body of Jesus. He also in- 
spires Nicodemus, another secret disciple, to join him in 
burying the august Victim of mankind. 

Let us contemplate them arriving at the cross, putting 
up ladders, and taking down with the greatest respect 
the body of their Master and their God. who can 
at this moment read the soul of the most Blessed Virgin 
Mary! Who can imagine her sorrow when she re- 
ceives in her arms the lifeless body of her divine Son, 
and presses it to her bosom, when she contemplates his 
closed eyes, his livid lips, his pallid face, and his blood- 
stained brow! Mary, he whom thou dost clasp in 
thine arms is thy Son Jesus, the fairest of the children 
of men ; but, alas ! he can no longer be recognized save 
by a mother's love; such is the state to which our ini- 
quities have reduced him. 

good Mother, by the sorrows which thou didst feel 
at the foot of the cross, deign to solicit our pardon from 
the God whom we have offended. Offer for our sins the 
saving Victim who is in thy arms, and by whom alone 
we hope to obtain mercy ! 

Having contemplated Mary weeping over the body of 
Jesus taken down from the cross, and having besought 
her to intercede for us with God, let us give proof that 
we share in her sorrows. Let us also in union with her, 
with St. John and the holy women, adore the divine body 
that was crucified for us. Let us follow the example of 
the beloved disciple who clasps the sacred body of his 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 335 

Redeemer in his arms, rests his virginal head once more 
on that bosom, that sanctuary of infinite love, on which 
he had leaned at supper the evening before. Let us 
imitate Magdalen, who waters with her tears those divine 
feet at which she had found peace, and which are now 
so horribly mangled. Let* us in spirit join the little 
group of pious persons present at the mournful ceremony 
of taking down the body of Jesus from the cross, and 
with them let us eagerly testify our respect for the sacred 
flesh of the incarnate God, and manifest our grief at his 
cruel and ignominious death. Let us excite in our hearts 
the sentiments with which they were animated; let us 
prostrate ourselves before the lifeless body of our Re- 
deemer, and shed tears of sorrow over the work of our 
sins. 

Let us also contemplate the Savior's cross after his 
body has been taken down from it; and let us venerate 
the precious wood, stained with his blood. No longer 
infamous and an instrument of torture, it has become 
a glorious trophy, the sign of salvation. It is a vic- 
torious standard planted on the summit of Calvary, 
destined for all ages to come to be the object of the 
profound veneration of the faithful. 

holy cross, sacred tree, receive our homage ! Al- 
though bereft of the adorable body of Jesus, thou art 
and ever shalt be the altar whereon the Victim of our 
salvation is offered; the balance whereon his divine 
body far outweighed the sins of the world ! On thee, 
holy cross, the price of our redemption was paid ! 
Though outwardly an instrument to be despised, thou 
art in reality a weapon of terrible power, since by thee 
the prince of darkness was vanquished and robbed of 



336 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

his prey. Hail, glorious monument of the victory of 
the King of kings ! Hail, sceptre to be borne on the 
last day in his almighty hand ! I prostrate myself 
before thee, and contemplate thee, reddened with the 
blood of my Savior. At that sight love and confidence 
revive within my breast, and I cry out with the Church : 
"Hail, cross, our only hope!" 1 

APPLICATION 

Let us Christians, who really possess on our altars 
the sacred body of our divine Savior, enter into the 
spirit of the mystery on which we have been meditating. 
Let us honor it, and religiously recall it to mind with 
the same sentiments of love and sorrow as animated 
the pious persons who took part in his burial on Cal- 
vary. 

Let us often think of the grief of Mary at the foot 
of the cross, and especially of that which she experi- 
enced when she received into her arms the lifeless body 
of her divine Son. Through the love that we have for 
her, let us compassionate her in these sufferings, and 
especially let us deplore the sins which caused them. 

Let us devoutly venerate the holy cross on which our 
divine Eedeemer immolated himself, and keep it before 
our eyes. Let us often look upon it, and recall the 
great mystery wrought upon it. Let us excite in our 
hearts sentiments of lively confidence in the grace 
which Jesus merited for us by his sufferings and death. 

Let us kiss with deep religious respect the particle 
of the true cross which the Church presents for our 
1 Hymn Vexilla Begis. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 337 

veneration. Let us then make acts of sorrow for our 
faults, and of love and gratitude to him who has so 
loved us as voluntarily to sacrifice himself for our 
salvation. 

PEAYEE 

Yes, Jesus, I will venerate thy cross, I will esteem 
that sacred wood which is stained with thy blood, I will 
study that book which speaks so eloquently to us of 
thy zeal and of thy boundless charity. But, my God, 
I will, at the same time, weep over sin which made thy 
immolation necessary; over sin which crucified thee 
and alone caused the sorrows that broke the heart of thy 
divine Mother. 

I will weep, but I will also hope, because thy cross is 
the sign of hope. It tells me that thou hast redeemed 
me, that I am no longer a slave, that my chains are 
broken, my shame taken away, my freedom regained, 
my rights recovered; that I have become a child of 
God and an heir of Heaven. 

It tells me that, although a miserable sinner, I am 
justified through it alone, and allowed to draw near 
thy sacred flesh, to receive thy divine body with the 
sentiments wherewith it was received by the holy per- 
sonages who conveyed it from the cross to the sepul- 
chre; to place it in my heart as in a tomb prepared for 
its reception. There it will sow the germ of resurrec- 
tion and of everlasting life. 

Mary, we conjure thee by thy sorrows and by 
the sentiments with which thou didst receive into thy 
arms the lifeless body Qi thy divine Son, obtain for us 



338 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

all the purity, piety, and love wherewith we ought to 

approach that sacred body, so that it may be really 

for us the saving Victim whose death will give us life. 

Kesume, page 409. 

Let us devoutly contemplate the descent from the 
cross : 

1. The day is closing; the Savior's body must soon 
be buried that it may not be thrown into the grave oc- 
cupied by the thieves. 

2. Joseph of Arimathea asks and obtains the sacred 
body. 

3. Assisted by Mcodemus, he goes to perform the 
last sad rites. 

4. Together they take it down from the cross. 

5. They place it in the arms of Mary. They unite 
with her in adoring it. 

— Let us also adore it, and 

1. Weep for our sins, which have crucified Jesus. 

2. Weep for our sins, which are the true cause of the 
sorrows of his Blessed Mother. 

1 3. Venerate the cross, sanctified by contact with the 
sacred members of the Savior. 

4. Eenew our hope at sight of the emblem of our 
redemption. 

5. In union with Mary, offer to Heaven Jesus cruci- 
fied and dead for us. 



FIFTY-SEVENTH MEDITATION 
JESUS IS LAID IN THE TOMB 

They laid him in a sepulchre that was hewed in stone, wherein 
never yet any man had been laid. — Luke xxiii. 53. 

CONSIDEKATION 

Let us return to Calvary to pay our last respects to 
the august Victim of our redemption. Let us unite 
with the holy persons who are performing that sad and 
pious ceremony ; with them, let us not only show respect 
for that sacred body, but let us also adore it, because, 
though dead, it contains the plenitude of the divinity. 

Let us contemplate the body of Jesus at first resting 
in the arms of Mary, the Mother of sorrows, bedewed 
with the tears of the beloved disciple and Magdalene, 
and then placed on the ground which is reddened with 
the precious blood. Joseph and Mcodemus kiss it 
respectfully, and discover, alas ! innumerable wounds 
which the blood had concealed from their eyes : they 
then embalm it with myrrh and aloes, and wrap it in 
a long white veil. 

Let us then behold them taking that precious burden 
in their arms and carrying it from the foot of the 
cross to the garden where the sepulchre, destined to 
receive it, has been hewn in the rock. 

With what lively emotion should the sight of this 
mournful ceremony inspire us! Mary follows the body 

339 



340 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

of her divine Son, for so great is her maternal love 
that she cannot tear herself from him. The beloved 
disciple, Magdalene and the other holy women accom- 
pany her and shed tears unceasingly. 

Let us contemplate them, and with the eyes of faith 
behold also the angels who surround and adore the body 
of the Word of God, by whom all things were made, 
and who now, at the close of the sixth day of the great 
week, after finishing the work of the new creation, is 
going to rest in the tomb, whence he will soon rise 
glorious. 

The pious cortege arrives at the sepulchre and 
reverently places therein the sacred remains of the 
Savior. Those who have assisted at the burial again 
prostrate themselves, profoundly adoring the lifeless 
body and shedding floods of tears; they then retire 
from the cave which is closed with a great stone. 

Who can describe the sentiments of their hearts, 
their profound grief, their bitter anguish ! Mary, 
what woe is thine ! But since thou wast so blessed for 
having believed, 1 is not thy grief tempered by hope? 
Yes, dry thy tears, desolate Mother, for thy Son is 
soon to be restored to thee. The tomb shall not long 
enclose his sacred remains; and in spite of the pre- 
cautions of the Jews, in spite of the power of hell, his 
word shall be accomplished, and thou shalt see him 
again living and glorious. 

Christian souls who assist in spirit at the ceremony 

of the burial of your divine Savior, which is so fitted 

to excite in your hearts the most lively emotion, reflect 

on the nature of this mystery; consider, attentively, 

^uke i. 45. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 341 

the motives from which your adorable Master allows 
his body to be buried and to be laid in the tomb ! 

Let us consider some of those which naturally sug- 
gest themselves: 

Our Lord Jesus Christ willed to be buried and to 
remain in the tomb : 1. In order to leave no room to 
doubt the reality of his death, and, consequently, of 
his resurrection; 2. To verify the prophecy of Isaiah, 
that his sepulchre should be glorious; 1 and to accom- 
plish what was prefigured by Joseph in prison, by 
Jonas in the whale's belly, by Daniel in the lion's den; 

3. To make himself like unto us in everything except 
sin, and to share with us the humiliation of the tomb; 

4. To induce us to be resigned to that inevitable hu- 
miliation, to diminish its terrors for us, and to lead us 
even to desire its coming. 

Let us dwell for a moment on the last thought. Jesus 
being God, elevates, sanctifies, and makes desirable to 
Christians, who are his followers, every state through 
which he passes. To those that walk in his footsteps 
there is no longer anything really humiliating. As the 
cross itself becomes a glorious ensign, so also does the 
tomb, since our divine Master has deigned to be laid 
therein. It is no longer an object of horror to Chris- 
tians, but rather a place of rest, into which, following 
their august chief, they enter after the warfare of this 
life, and there sleep with him, awaiting the great day 
of resurrection. 

The burial of our Lord not only affords us consola- 
tion and revives our hope; it also instructs us in a 
sublime manner in our duties as Christians and re- 
a Isai. xi. 10. 



342 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

ligioiis. "Buried with him in baptism/' 1 says St. Paul ; 
— that is, by that sacrament, we have made a solemn 
promise to bury ourselves mystically with our divine 
Kedeemer, in order to participate in the merits of his 
death and resurrection. Every Christian ought, there- 
fore, to be dead to the world. He ought to be able to 
say: "The world is crucified to me, and I to the 
world." 2 I bear the same relation to the world as does 
a dead body that is already laid in the tomb. My life 
is hidden in God, and like the sacred body of Christ in 
the sepulchre, I have no concern but with God and his 
angels. 

Happy they who, detached in mind and heart from 
the world and the things of the world, are mystically 
buried with Jesus Christ! Their souls enjoy repose 
amid the silence of the passions, and they are en- 
couraged to perseverance by the well-founded hope of a 
glorious resurrection. 

APPLICATION 

If it is obligatory on all Christians to be dead to the 
world and to be buried with Jesus Christ, it is much 
more so on us religious, who have solemnly promised 
this, not only in receiving baptism, but also in follow- 
ing our vocation. 

We have bid adieu to the world; we are exteriorly 
separated from it ; we wear a habit which it considers a 
shroud: but are we interiorly detached from what we 
have left? Are we really dead to the world, to its 
vanities, its pleasures, and its maxims? Is our life 
Ktol. ii. 12. 2 Gal. vi. 14. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 343 

hidden with Christ in God? Are we buried with our 
divine Savior ? Are we recollected, and do we religiously 
observe the silence prescribed us? If all our brethren 
were to act as we do, would our house be an image of 
the tomb of our Lord? Would it breathe that peace 
and piety w T hich should always reign in religious com- 
munities ? 

Let us, then, from this day enter generously into 
the practice of silence and recollection; let us keep 
ourselves closely united with Jesus in the sepulchre,, 
and we shall experience rest and hope. When, at last, 
death shall come upon us, we shall accept it with resig- 
nation and even with joy, in the thought that we shall 
thereby become more like unto our divine Head; and 
that, like the sabbath of the great week, our bodily rest 
in the tomb shall terminate with the day-dawn of the 
glorious resurrection. 

PEAYEE 

Jesus, my hope and my strength, thou hast called 
me by my baptism, and more especially by my religious 
vocation, to manifest in my conduct thy life, thy death, 
and thy burial, so that I may one day share in thy 
resurrection. I bless thee for thus remembering me, 
and I will try to correspond to all thy designs upon me. 

1 wish to reproduce mystically thy death and burial ; 
I wish to be buried with thee, to think only of thee and 
of what concerns thy interests ; I wish to have no more 
connection with the world, which I have so often re- 
nounced. But, Lord, I am weak. Wherefore, I implore 
the assistance of thy grace, that my good will may not 



344 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

fail, and that, closing my ears to the noise of the world 
and my eyes to its seductive pomp, I may dwell with 
thee in the tomb of the religions life, in order to share 
one day in the glory of thy resurrection, and live with 
thee a life of everlasting happiness. 

Eesume, page 410. 

Let us contemplate Joseph and Mcodemus embalm- 
ing the body of Jesus, wrapping it in a winding-sheet, 
and carrying it to the sepulchre. What are their senti- 
ments ? 

What are Mary's sentiments? 

Let us reflect that Jesus would be buried : 

1. To remove all doubt as to the fact of his death, 
and also to accomplish what had been foretold of his 
burial. 

2. To make himself in all things like unto us. 

3. To sanctify the burial of Christians, who are mem- 
bers of his mystical body. 

4. To induce us, by his example, to be resigned to the 
humiliation of the tomb. 

5. To engage us also to shun the world and to esteem 
recollection, which is our spiritual burial. 

— Penetrated with these truths: 

1. Let us accept with resignation both death and its 
horrors. 

2. Let us renounce the world, and be dead in its eyes. 

3. Let us renew our baptismal promises. 

4. Let us observe silence and recollection. 

5. Let us bury ourselves with Jesus Christ. 



FIFTY-EIGHTH MEDITATION 
THE SEPULCHRE OF JESUS CHRIST 

His sepulchre shall be glorious. — Isai. xi. 10. 

CONSIDERATION 

The tomb is for man a subject of the most profound 
humiliation; for there his body, stricken down by death, 
becomes a prey to corruption, and soon is but a heap of 
rottenness and filth, an object at once of horror and of 
pity. But it is not so with the sepulchre of Jesus Christ, 
because his immaculate flesh remains, even after death, 
hypostatically united with the divinity. Hence he had 
said by the mouth of David: "My flesh shall rest in 
hope ;" Thou wilt not abandon me in the tomb ; "Nor 
wilt thou give thy holy one to see corruption." 1 He had 
likewise prophesied by Isaiah, that his sepulchre should 
be glorious. 2 And such is really the case. It is with the 
sepulchre of Jesus as with his cross ; from a monument of 
humiliation, it becomes, through him, a monument of 
glory which all generations shall honor, which nations 
shall dispute the privilege of possessing, which the great 
ones and princes of the earth shall be eager to visit ; and 
which people of all lands shall come to venerate, praying 
meanwhile to him who was buried therein. 

how glorious is the sepulchre of our divine Savior 
J Ps. xv. 9, 10. 2 Isai. xi. 10. 

345 



346 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

wherein he rested for a few hours in the sleep of death, 
awaiting the moment of his resurrection ! Therein was 
inclosed the true Samson, guarded by the new Philis- 
tines; and thence he went forth, in the middle of the 
night, storming the gates of death, and passing through 
the midst of his terrified enemies. 

Let us, then, go in spirit to the holy sepulchre. Let us 
honor it as the trophy of Christ's victory over death. 
As we behold it, let us excite in our hearts an abiding 
trust that, Jesus being our Head, our tomb like his, shall 
become glorious on the day when the Lord shall raise 
to everlasting life those who have been united with him 
on earth ; those who, faithful to their baptismal promises, 
have been dead to the world, and buried with their divine 
Master, those who, entering into the. spirit of the mys- 
tery of his burial, have understood its lessons and en- 
deavored to apply them. 

Let us, then, consider what has been revealed to us 
of the sepulchre of our Lord, so that, knowing more 
intimately our adorable Model and all-powerful Media- 
tor, we may comprehend what we ought to do to become 
like unto him, and to merit to be associated with him in 
his resurrection. 

Let us remark, first, that this sepulchre belongs to 
Joseph of Arimathea ; that thus Jesus practised poverty 
in a sublime manner to the end of his life, for, even in 
death he mad not where to lay his head. 1 

Let us next remark that the sepulchre is not far dis- 
tant from Calvary. We are thus reminded that it is by 
the sufferings of the cross that the calm repose of 
Christian burial is obtained, and that he shall sleep in 
^att. viii. 20. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 347 

peace with Christ, who, by patience and mortification, 
has been crucified with him. 

This sepulchre is hewn in the rock : let us learn there- 
from that it is by hard and constant labor that we shall 
dispose our hearts to become the dwelling of Jesus 
Christ. 

The sepulchre is in a garden, thus reminding us that 
the faithful soul, in which Christ dwells, ought to be 
adorned with the flowers of exterior virtues ; that it ought 
to be known by an edifying conduct, by the good example 
which it gives and by the outward diffusion of the good 
odor of Jesus abiding within. 

The sepulchre is guarded by the enemies of Jesus, 
lest any one should come to carry off the body which it 
enclosed. But, as David had foretold, 1 their precautions 
are a snare to them, because they will only serve to prove 
more conclusively the resurrection of our divine Savior. 
Let us learn therefrom that all merely human wisdom 
is folly before God ; that in vain do men oppose the de- 
signs of his Providence, for those designs are always 
accomplished, and often by the very means employed to 
frustrate them. 

The sepulchre in which the body of our divine Savior 
reposes is new, free from corruption, and from dead 
men's bones ; and his precious remains are wrapped in a 
white shroud. Could he better make known to us that he 
dwells only in hearts that are pure, in hearts that are 
free from the defilement of mortal sin? 

But this is not enough. In order that Jesus may take 
pleasure in us, he must also find in us the virtues prop- 
er to Christians, as indeed, we are reminded by the cir- 
*Ps. xxxiv, 8, 



348 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

cumstances of his burial: mortification and penance, 
symbolized by the myrrh and aloes wherewith his divine 
body was embalmed — exterior retreat, recalled by the 
sealed stone that closes the entrance of the tomb — in- 
terior recollection, typified by the darkness and silence 
that reign within the monument. He furthermore de- 
mands of us the virtues specially represented by the 
persons who assisted at his burial — the justice of Joseph 
of Arimathea, the generosity of Mcodemus, the penance 
of Mary Magdalen, the charity of St. John, the piety 
of the holy women. Lastly, as far as possible, our hearts 
must be like the most holy heart of Mary. Happy are 
they who present to Jesus this goodly train of virtues ! 
Happy are they whose hearts are adorned with such a de- 
gree of perfection, for they are sepulchres wherein Jesus 
reposes, imparting even to their bodies the germ of a 
glorious and eternal life ! 

APPLICATION 

With a very different purpose from that of the 
Jews, who remain near the holy sepulchre to falsify 
the prophecy of Jesus, let us also keep watch, but with 
the desire of glorifying our divine Savior. Let us be- 
seech him to come and dwell in us, and to implant the 
germ of life everlasting, which he has merited for us by 
his sufferings and death. But let us endeavor to prepare 
for him a worthy dwelling place by a more perfect prac- 
tice of the Christian virtues recalled to our minds by the 
circumstances of his burial. 

Let Jesus find in us the myrrh of mortification, the 
flowers of modesty, the white shroud of purity. Let our 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 349 

hearts, like the rock in which he was buried, be solidly 
established in faith and charity ; let them be new, ex- 
empt from all other affection than love for Jesus. Let us 
by the practice of retreat and silence, close them to every 
report and to every spectacle from without ; let recollec- 
tion be to our souls like the sealed stone placed at the 
entrance of the sepulchre, or the soldiers that kept guard 
against the approach of strangers. 

Let us practise these virtues, especially when we are 
about to receive holy Communion. Let us remember 
that the Eucharist is the mystic sepulchre of Jesus 
Christ, which all the faithful of all ages of the Church 
are called to venerate. Let us go often in spirit to the 
Savior's sepulchre; and there let us shut ourselves up 
with him, close our ears to the tumult from without, and 
in silent contemplation, give up our souls to sentiments 
of regret, pity, love, and gratitude. 

PEAYER 

Jesus, thou dost permit thy sepulchre to be my 
refuge, where, far from all worldly bustle, my soul may 
delight in thy holy company. There it is I may find 
thee, my Beloved, my Lord and my God, source of the 
glorious life to which I aspire ! 

loving Eedeemer, who, to make us sharers in the 
merits of thy burial, dost mystically continue it in the 
Holy Eucharist and permit me to receive thee so often 
into my heart; grant, I beseech thee, that I may com- 
municate with all the requisite dispositions which thou 
hast made known to me during this meditation, so that 
resting now in the sepulchre of my heart, thou mayst 



350 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

implant therein the germ of a glorious resurrection and 
of that eternal life which thou dost possess in its full- 
ness. 

Eesume, page 410. 

Let us go to the tomb of Jesus and learn the lessons 
which it teaches us. 

1. This tomb belongs to a stranger; Jesus is poor. 

2. This tomb is near Calvary; it is the cross that 
merits for us the repose and the burial of saints. 

3. This tomb is new and cut in a rock: our heart 
should never have belonged to any but Jesus; it ought 
to be solidly established in him. 

4. This tomb is guarded ; is our heart guarded ? 

5. This tomb is in a garden; is our heart separated 
from the world and adorned with the flowers of virtue ? 

—That Jesus may be pleased with it, he must find in 
it: 

1. The myrrh of mortification. 

2. The white shroud of innocence. 

3. The justice of Joseph of Arimathea, the generosity 
of Nicodemus. 

4. The piety and the charity of Saint John. 

5. To some extent, the piety and charity of the most 
Blessed Virgin. 



FIFTY-NINTH MEDITATION 
THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST 

You seek Jesus who was crucified: he is not here; for he is 
risen. — Matt, xxviii. 5, 6. 

CONSIDEEATION 

We have witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus, our be- 
loved Savior; we have seen him enduring every species 
of torment; we have contemplated him dead on the 
cross, with his heart pierced by a lance; we have con- 
sidered him in the arms of his holy and afflicted Mother ; 
and, finally, we have visited him in the sepulchre around 
which his enemies keep watch. 

how desolate at this moment is the state of the 
infant Church ! Its supreme Head is dead and buried ; 
the apostles and disciples, sad and discouraged, hide 
themselves and think of dispersing; the holy society 
they are called to found appears doomed to destruction ; 
the enemies of Jesus are triumphant, and boast of 
having put to death him whose wisdom and power they 
so greatly envied. 

Nevertheless, their joy is not free from uneasiness: 
for they remember that when they asked of Jesus a 
sign in proof of his divinity, he had told them that he 
would accomplish what had been prefigured by the 
prophet Jonas, 1 and would rise the third day after his 
death. That third day is not yet past: as, therefore, 
x Ps. xxxiv. 8; cxl. 10, 

351 



352 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

they are not delivered from this fear, they carefully 
guard the sepulchre, which they have closed with a 
large stone and sealed with the seals of the nation. 
But what can they do against the Almighty? Of what 
avail are the sealed stone which closes the entrance of 
the tomb, and the armed soldiers who guard it, if not 
to render more incontestable the fact whose accomplish- 
ment they so much dread? Their precautions are but 
snares to themselves: "They fall into their own nets/' 
as the prophet had foretold. 

The divine body of Jesus reposes in the tomb, whilst 
his most holy soul, going down into Limbo, consoles 
the just of the Old Law, and announces to them their 
speedy deliverance. No doubt Jesus gives as a sign 
thereof, the resurrection which he is about to effect, by 
the power of the divinity to which his soul is united, 
by re-animating the sacred body from which his soul 
was separated by death. 

Let us go in spirit to the Savior's tomb at the mo- 
ment when the day of rest is drawing to an end, and 
that third day so anxiously expected is about to begin. 
Let us adore that sacred body motionless in death, 
wrapped in a shroud, and covered with spices, as though 
needing to be preserved from corruption. Behold ! the 
moment has arrived. The soul of Jesus penetrates into 
the sepulchre ; it unites with his body ; it restores to it 
feeling, color, beauty, strength, and motion. And the 
Savior taking up again the life that he had laid down, 
frees his body from the bands and grave-clothes in 
which it is wrapped, and goes forth from the tomb 
without removing the stone that closed the entrance, or 
breaking the seals affixed thereto. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 353 

miracles of miracles ! happy night in which it 
is wrought! night whereof it is said that it is brighter 
than day! Jesus goes forth living and glorious 
from the tomb ! He frees himself from the arms of 
affrighted death, — he breaks the bands wherewith it 
binds him, — and proves that he is truly the Son of 
God. how admirably he confounds the designs of 
his enemies, and defeats the projects of hell ! 

He who was covered with wounds, fastened to the 
cross, and drained of his blood, is now full of life and 
beauty. His body, which but lately resembled that of 
a leper, has put on eternal youth, and is more luminous 
than light itself. For him, the cross is changed into a 
sceptre, Calvary into a scene of glory, the tomb into a 
monument of triumph. The resurrection is an accom- 
plished fact; a new creation is effected; and Holy 
Church is about to dry her tears and share in the glory 
of her divine Spouse. 

The holy women are already hastening to the sepul- 
chre, and will soon be followed by the apostles. They 
see that the stone which closed the entrance is removed. 
As they draw near, an angel appears to them, and 
announces the Savior's resurrection: "Fear not/' he 
said; "you seek Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified; 
he is risen ; he is not here !" 

Yes, Jesus is risen ! the angel proclaims it, and every 
thing tends to show it: the tomb is empty; the body 
that had been laid within and carefully guarded, is no 
longer there ; the grave-clothes are still there, but folded 
as if they had not been used. There is no trace of 
death there; but, on the contrary, there is evidence of 
immortality. There hearts are renewed in hope, souls 



354 MEDITATIONS OX THE PASSION 

are illumined with the light of faith. Thence they de- 
part with a deep conviction of the resurrection, and, 
consequently, of the divinity of our Lord. How sweet, 
then, it is to be buried with the thoughts and feelings 
inspired by faith in this mystery ! 

Jesus is risen: he is, therefore, God; hence his doc- 
trine is divine, his Church is divine, and his promises 
are divine. The work of our redemption is accom- 
plished, the chains of our slavery are broken, and the 
Victim of Calvary is really our divine Victim. Sin is 
destroyed, the sting of death is taken away, the hope 
of eternal happiness is restored, and we are reconciled 
with heaven. Hence joy has followed our sadness, and 
now overflows our hearts. 

In dying as a victim on Calvary, Jesus gave his life 
to fulfill the sentence which condemned man to death ; 
and in rising again, he has taken a new life which he 
communicates to us who are his children. Let us re- 
ceive that life with the greatest joy and the profoundest 
gratitude. 

Jesus is risen; but he is our Head: we, then, who 
are his members, shall rise again; and each of us may 
now repeat those words of Job : "I know that my Ee- 
deemer liveth, and in the last day I shall rise out of 
the earth; I shall see my God." x how this thought 
consoles us who are under the necessity of dying! For 
the faithful who are united with Jesus, the tomb is 
only a place where they repose for a time in death, but 
whence, like him and by him, they shall go forth living 
and glorious. 

^ob xix. 25, 26. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 355 

APPLICATION 

Let us animate our hearts with lively hope. Let us 
have confidence. Our Head has triumphed, we shall 
triumph with him; he has taken from death its sting, 
and merited for us a glorious resurrection. But let us 
often call to mind that it was necessary for Christ to 
suffer, and so enter into his glory; 1 and that it is by 
our likeness to him, we shall merit to share in his 
resurrection. 

Let our souls thrill with joy at the contemplation of 
Jesus risen; let us celebrate his triumph, let us chant 
his glory; let us, by our eagerness in his service, and 
especially by our fidelity to grace, testify to him our 
gratitude for the new life which he has given us. Let 
us love with our whole heart the new Adam, who has 
regenerated humanity, and more than repaired all the 
evil of the first sin ; and let us exclaim with the Church : 
"0 happy fault which has merited for us such a Ee- 
deemer !" 2 

Let us beseech Jesus risen to visit our souls, to bless 
them, to give them peace, and to preserve to them that 
life of grace which he has communicated to them, and 
which is one day to be changed into the life of glory. 

PEAYEE 

Jesus, all powerful conqueror, destroyer of sin, of 
death and of hell, who by thy resurrection dost triumph 
over thy enemies, thou didst yield to death only to 
conquer and destroy it, and to give us also strength and 
"Luke xxiv. 26. 2 Exultet, Office of Holy Saturday. 



356 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

courage to triumph over it. Thou openest to us, 
Lord, by this victory so complete and so glorious, the 
gates of eternal life which had been closed against us 
by our sins ; and thou dost animate us with the liveliest 
feelings of joy, hope and love. 

Jesus, deign to preserve in us these sentiments, so 
that, profiting by the new life which thou hast given us, 
we may become worthy of the eternal life which is its 
consummation, and which thou wilt impart to all those 
who, on earth, have shared in thy sufferings and thy 
death. 

Eesume, page 411. 

Let us in spirit return to the last moment in the 
great week of the Passion. 

Let us think of the sad state of the infant Church 
at that hour. 

But behold the hour foretold by Christ : 

1. His soul goes forth from limbo. 

2. Angelic choirs form its train. 

3. It enters into his divine body from which it had 
been separated, and takes possession of it. 

4. It gives life, strength, and beauty. 

5. Jesus rises gloriously. 

— mystery of mysteries ! What a subject of joy ! 

1. Our faith is confirmed, our hope assured. 

2. The divinity of Jesus is proved. 

3. His Church is founded. 

4. Death is conquered, our own glorious resurrection 
is merited. 

5. It is already begun in that of our adorable Head. 



SIXTIETH MEDITATION 
GOOD FRIDAY 



The just perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart. — 
Isai. lvii. 1. 



CONSIDEKATION 

Behold the day on which the great Sacrifice is accom- 
plished, the debt of guilty humanity paid, divine justice 
satisfied, earth purified, and hell vanquished, — the day 
on which we became, at the foot of the cross, children 
of Mary and heirs of heaven. Oh! how can we recall 
any moment of that day, or of the preceding night, 
without being deeply moved and shedding tears of 
compassion, regret, love, and gratitude? 

That night is the ever memorable Holy Thursday 
on which Jesus, after giving himself to us in the ador- 
able sacrament, began -his passion in Gethsemane by 
the voluntary shedding of his blood, and afterwards 
gave himself up to his enemies, and appeared before 
Annas, and before Caiphas. 

When the day dawns he is confined in a narrow cell ; 
he goes forth to the great council of the Jews, by which 
he is delivered up to Pilate. Thence he is sent by the 
Eoman governor to Herod, who, in his turn, remands 
the divine Prisoner to Pilate. For three hours, the 
adorable Victim is thus dragged from one tribunal to 
another, being everywhere loaded with ignominy, and 

357 



358 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

subjected to the most shameful and the most revolting 
treatment. 

Then he had to endure anew the questioning of Pilate, 
the clamors of the Jews, rejection in favor of Barabbas, 
the scourging, the crowning with thorns, the sentence 
of death, the carrying of the cross, the crucifixion, and 
finally the three hours' agony on the cross, with all its 
accompanying circumstances, from the moment when he 
prays for his executioners till that when, uttering a loud 
cry, he bows his head and expires ; nay, even till his body, 
after being taken down from the cross and placed in 
Mary's arms, is at last wrapped in a winding-sheet and 
borne to the tomb. 

There is not a moment of the day which may not 
furnish us with the most salutary reflections. Neverthe- 
less, we shall not pause on each in particular; but con- 
sider in a general way the principal virtues of which 
Jesus gives us an example. Our adorable Master, suc- 
cessively imparts these lessons in the house of Caiphas, 
in the streets of Jerusalem, in the pretorium, and on 
Calvary ; and everywhere he teaches us charity, patience, 
obedience, humility, and generosity. 

And first charity. — He sacrifices himself, that all may 
know that he loves his Father, and that he does his 
Father's will ;* he sacrifices himself, that we may know 
the extent of his love for us: it is his love for his 
Father and for us that leads him to Calvary and nails 
him to the cross. He had said : "Greater love than this 
no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his 
friends." 2 This proof our Savior has given us on this 
day so justly commemorated by the Church. Each of 
^ohn xiv. 31. 2 John xv. 13. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 359 

us may henceforth say with St. Paul : "Jesus loved me, 
and delivered himself for me." 1 

Yes, Jesus loved us even to the shedding of all his 
blood for our salvation ! Can we, then, still hesitate to 
love him and to devote ourselves unreservedly to his 
service? Nor should we neglect the interests of our 
neighbor, whoever he be, since he represents to us Jesus 
Christ himself. Moreover, our divine Savior has said: 
"Love one another as I have loved you." 2 

During the whole course of his passion, Jesus, by his 
example, teaches us patience and meekness. Lion of the 
tribe of Juda, 3 possessed of almighty power, having but 
to will it to bring down from heaven "more than twelve 
legions of angels," 4 or even to annihilate his enemies, 
he appears, nevertheless, "dumb as a lamb before his 
shearer." 5 He leaves all power to the empire of dark- 
ness, and seeks only to be a "man of sorrows, and ac- 
quainted with infirmity." 6 His enemies spend their 
rage upon him; and he bears it without a complaint, 
treating them with kindness, meekness and love ! 

He teaches the virtue of obedience in the most sub- 
lime manner. He renounces his own will to do the will 
of his Father, and accepts the chalice that is offered to 
him. He fulfils exactly all that had been written of him 
in Holy Scripture, so that before his death he can truly 
exclaim: "All is consummated." 7 He has obeyed in 
everything that was commanded him ; he has obeyed all, 
even his executioners; he has sacrificed his repose, his 
honor, and his life, to obedience. "He humbled him- 

HJal. ii. 20. 2 John xiii. 34. 3 Apoc. v. 5. 

4 Matt. xxvi. 53. 5 Isai. liii. 7. G IUd. 3. 

7 John xix. 30. 



360 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

self/' says St. Paul, "becoming obedient nnto death, even 
the death of the cross." 1 What a model for Christians, 
and especially for religions ! 

But to what a degree onr adorable Master carries the 
practice of humility ! Though most high God, and 
King of kings, he debases himself, taking the form of a 
servant. 2 He had said by the mouth of David : "I am a 
worm, and no man; the reproach of men, and the out- 
cast of the people ; all they that saw me have laughed me 
to scorn," 3 He has fulfilled, in his passion, every 
detail of the prophecy. Though Son of God, co-equal 
with his Father, and worthy of the adoration of heaven 
and earth, he is "reputed with the wicked," 4 rejected for 
Barabbas, and abandoned to the contempt of all. The 
Holy of holies, he appears as a wretched criminal covered 
with opprobrium, and is delivered over to a most in- 
famous death! 

And how great is his generosity ! He sacrifices him- 
self for us who were his enemies. He prays to his 
heavenly Father for his executioners. To obtain their 
pardon, he offers up the cross on which he is nailed, and 
the blood that flows from his veins. At the very moment 
when he is afflicted with the greatest pain, he forgets 
himself to think of us, and from the cross, gives us 
Mary for our Mother. After he has expired, he sheds 
upon us, from his riven heart, the greatest treasures of 
his grace. 

Behold, Christian souls, what a model is to-day 
"shown us on the mount." 5 Happy are they who make 
it their whole study to become like unto him ! 

1 Phil. ii. 8: *Ibid. 6, 7. *Ps. xxi. 7, 8. 

4 Isai. liii. 12. 5 Exod. xxv. 40. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 361 

APPLICATION 

Let us, from the bottom of our hearts, adore Jesus 
immolating himself for us. Prostrate at the foot of his 
cross, let us unite with his holy Mother in weeping over 
his sorrows, and rekindle our sentiments of love and 
gratitude for his mercies. Let us give ourselves to him 
for ever. Has he not purchased us at an exceeding great 
price? How, then, can we dare think of withholding 
our services from him ? 

Let us weep over our sins, the true cause of his suffer- 
ings and death, and resolve to commit them no more. 
Let us take from our hearts all resentment and antipa- 
thy. To-day is the great day of God's mercy to us ; why 
should it not be for us the day of forgiving all the 
injuries that may have been done us? When Jesus 
prays for his executioners, can any Christian close his 
heart against his brethren? 

"Jesus sacrificed on the tree of the cross/ 5 says St. 
Bernard, "is the cause, the motive, and the model of all 
our sacrifices." Let us unite ourselves to him more and 
more, and draw from that union strength and courage 
to walk in his footsteps. Let us labor, by his grace to 
die to ourselves, to our self-love, and to our passions, 
for such is his will. Besides, nothing is more advan- 
tageous to us; for this mystical death is the beginning 
of our true life, since it enables us to share all the 
treasures that he has acquired for us by his sufferings 
and death. 

PBAYEE 

Jesus, Author of life, who diest to-day to save me 
from eternal death, deign to apply to my soul the merits 



362 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

of thy immolation. Grant that, weeping over thy sor- 
rows and my sins, I may persevere in the closest union 
with thee, and so obtain the salvation which thou hast 
merited for me. Amen. 

Eesume, page 61. 

Behold the day of the great sacrifice ! How full of 
instruction it is for us ! 

Let us consider how it manifests our adorable Savior's 
virtues : 

1. His charity towards men. 

2. His patience, resignation, and meekness. 

3. His obedience, even to the death of the cross. 

4. His humility: "He is reputed with malefactors!" 

5. His generosity: He dies for those who crucify 
him. 

x — What a model ! To-day, then, in a special manner : 

1. Let us adore the divine Victim suffering and dying 
for us. 

2. Let us weep over his sorrows. 

3. Let us weep over our sins, which are their true 
cause. 

4. Let us pardon those who may have offended us. 

5. Let us unite ourselves to Jesus crucified, and re- 
main united to him even till death. 



SIXTY-FIRST MEDITATION 
HOLY SATURDAY 

He rested on the seventh day. — Gen. ii. 2. 

CONSIDEKATION" 

Let us meditate on the repose of Jesus In the sepul- 
chre. What subject can we choose to-^ay more con- 
formable to the spirit of the Church and more fruitful 
in salutary instruction ? 

Let us go to the tomb of our divine Savior; let us 
enter it with sentiments of the most affectionate piety. 
Let us consider his divine body given up for yet another 
day to the power of death. Let us contemplate his 
motionless head, his pallid face, his closed eyelids, his 
lacerated brow, his pierced hands and feet, his open side, 
his wounded heart; and let us recall what our adorable 
Eedeemer suffered for our salvation. 

Let us adore him in his state of rest, which he merited 
by so much toil and patience. Jesus, thou art that 
generous workman who, entering the vineyard at the 
first hour, bore the whole burden and heat of the day. 
Thou hast watered with thy sweat and thy blood the 
furrow which thou didst dig. Thou hast closed thy 
career, finished thy task. Yes, thou hast, indeed, ful- 
filled thy mission : for thou hast satisfied divine justice, 
expiated sin and repaired its ravages, founded the 
Church, regenerated humanity, vanquished hell, and 

363 



364 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

opened heaven. Yesterday thou didst cry out from the 
height of thy cross : "All is consummated !" 1 It only 
remained for thee to enter into thy rest, where, neverthe- 
less, thou dost continue thy work of salvation, and 
whence thou ceasest not to instruct us. 

Jesus in the sepulchre honors his Father who also 
rested on the seventh day. 2 He has just finished the 
new creation: like his Father he has considered the 
work that he has accomplished, and has seen that it is 
good; 3 then, having ceased from his dolorous labor, he 
is resting on this seventh day 4 of the great week,— a 
mysterious rest which had been prefigured in the Old 
Testament by types that are full of instruction for us. 

The repose of Jesus on the cross or in the tomb, had 
been prefigured by the sleep of the first man in the ter- 
restrial paradise. Jesus is the new Adam: scarcely is 
he sleeping the sleep of death when, from his open side, 
flow forth the blood and water which are to form the 
Church, his most holy Spouse, the Mother of the living. 

It had also been prefigured by the captivity of the 
patriarch Joseph, who passed suddenly from prison to 
court, from chains to the height of glory, and who was 
called the savior of the world. 

It had been prefigured by the sleep of Samson in the 
city of Gaza. Jesus, the true Samson, the Mighty One, 
the Wonderful, is in the sepulchre surrounded by watch- 
ful guards; but the moment is at hand when he shall 
bear away the gates of the city of death, even through 
the midst of his terrified enemies. 

The repose of Jesus in the tomb had been prefigured 

Mohn xix, 30. 2 Gen. ii. 2. 3 Ibid. I 31, 

*Ibid. ii. 2. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 365 

by the imprisonment of Jonas in the whale's belly, 
whence the prophet came forth alive, in order to an- 
nounce the truths of salvation to the Mnevites. It had 
also been prefigured by Daniel in the lion's den, whence 
that man of wonders was brought forth safe and sound, 
to the confusion of his enemies, who were themselves 
cast in and met with speedy death. 

Jesus rests in the sepulchre to celebrate the last sab- 
bath of the Mosaic law as he had celebrated, at the 
supper, its last Pasch. But the rest is only a figure of 
that whereon he shall enter to-morrow by his resur- 
rection : hence that morrow is the first day of the week 
which henceforth shall be the Lord's day, the Sabbath 
of the New Law. 

Jesus rests ; nevertheless, he is not inactive. His body 
is, indeed, motionless ; but his soul is in Limbo consoling 
the just of the Old Law, giving them, by his presence, 
a foretaste of the happiness which they shall soon 
enjoy with him and through him in heaven. Nor does 
he now cease to act in this world where, by his grace, he 
enlightens, strengthens, and consoles his disciples, and, 
by his providence, so regulates all things as to defeat 
the designs of his enemies, whose very precautions shall 
prove a snare to them. 1 

Jesus rests in death ; but he is our Head, — we all shall 
share his rest. The burial of Christians is for them 
only the seventh-day rest; for, having accomplished the 
work for which they were placed on this earth, they can 
at their last hour say with truth, "All is consummated." 
Death is for them but a sleep whose waking is bright 
with hope. Like Jesus in the tomb, they are in peace, 
*Ps. xxxiv. 8. 



366 MEDITATIONS OX THE PASSION 

awaiting the dawn of the great day, when they shall 
enter on a life of never-ending glory and happiness. 

APPLICATION 

Let us adore the divine body which was laid in the 
sepulchre by the pious Joseph of Arimathea and by 
Nicodemus. Let us honor Jesus reposing in the arms 
of death and awaiting the hour for loosing the bands 
that bind him. 

But there is also a repose prefigured by that on which 
he is to enter by his resurrection, and which he has 
merited for us by his toils and sufferings. He is the Good 
Shepherd, come to us his wandering sheep; he has 
wearied himself in seeking us ; he has taken us in his 
arms, and carried us back to the fold. He is our Master, 
come down from heaven to teach us. He has every- 
where announced his holy word; he has called all na- 
tions to him; and now he rests close by his cross, 
the sublime pulpit -from which he gave men his last 
instructions. 

God, his Father, rested after completing the work of 
creation; in like manner does our divine Savior rest to- 
day after accomplishing the work of our redemption by 
shedding the last drop of his blood.. 

Let us honor his burial on Calvary by a most lively 
and affectionate devotion to the Eucharist, which is his 
mystical burial. Let us fix our eyes upon the tabernacle, 
and think of the treasure which it contains. Under the 
veil of the sacramental species the sacred body of our 
divine Master is really present, — the same body that was 
taken down from the cross, wrapped in a white shroud, 



OF OTJR LORD JESUS CHRIST 367 

and placed in the sepulchre whence it afterwards arose 
glorious. 

Let us reverently and pi'ously pay him our homage, 
and by our love and gratitude testify to him our un- 
reserved devotedness to his service. 

Let us reflect that on the days when we have the 
happiness of receiving holy communion, our hearts are, 
likewise, the sepulchre of Jesus Christ. Let us, then, 
carefully prepare them for him, that he may strengthen 
them by his divinity, and sow in them the seed of life 
eternal. To-morrow our divine Savior is coming to us. 
Let our souls, therefore, be, as far as possible, fit 
resting-places for him — tabernacles resplendent with the 
gold of charity, and adorned with the flowers of purity, 
humility, and piety. 

Let us honor the burial of Jesus Christ, by the ex- 
terior and interior retirement proper to our state. As 
religious, let us remember that we have quitted the 
world, that we are dead to it and are buried with Jesus 
Christ. Let us, then, make it our delight to dwell witE 
our admirable Master, to keep ourselves in his holy 
presence, to visit him in his sacrament,— in a word, to 
live with him and for him. 

Happy are they who act thus! United with Jesus 
Christ, the first Born from the dead, 1 and the Author 
of life, they apply to themselves the fruits of his re- 
demption, they accomplish works that are meritorious 
for eternity ; and when they shall reach the end of their 
labors here below, they shall sleep in peace the death of 
the just, resting in the hope of beginning, on the great 
day of the general resurrection, a life that will never end. 
"Col. 1. 18. 



368 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION" 

PEAYER 

Jesus, divine Victim immolated for us on the cross 
and inclosed within our holy tabernacles, in union with 
thy most holy Mother, I honor thy death and burial, and 
I beseech thee to apply to me the merits thereof. Grant 
that, dying by thy grace, to the world and to my pas- 
sions, to live only by thee, with thee, and for thee, I 
may become worthy to rise in glory, and to celebrate 
in heaven, with the angels and saints, thy triumph over 
death and hell. 

Eesume, page 62. 

Let us meditate on the repose of Jesus Christ in the 
sepulchre : 

1. A rest preceded by fatigues and infinite suffering. 

2\ A rest like that of God the Father on the seventh 
day of creation. 

3. A rest prefigured by Adam's trance, by the cap- 
tivity of Joseph, by the sleep of Samson. 

4. A rest during which Jesus Christ ceased not to act. 

5. A rest in which we shall participate if we die in 
union with our divine Eedeemer. 

— To honor this rest : 

1. Let us reflect by what labors he merited it. 

2. Let us be the most devout to the Eucharist, his 
mystical sepulchre. 

3. Let us receive him with great piety into our hearts, 
which he makes his tomb. 

4. Let us bury ourselves with him by dying to the 
world, the devil, and our passions. 

5. Let us cherish the firm hope of rising gloriously 
with him. 



SIXTY-SECOND MEDITATION 
MAY 3— FINDING OF THE HOLY CROSS 

Blessed is the wood by which justice cometh. — Wisd. xiv. 7. 

CONSIDEKATION 

Let us call to mind the event which the Church com- 
memorates to-day, and presents as a consoling subject 
of meditation, to the piety of the faithful. St. Helena, 
visiting the places consecrated by the presence of Jesus 
Christ in his mortal life, orders search to be made for 
the True Cross and the other instruments of the passion. 
The excavations made on Calvary result in the dis- 
covery of the Savior's Cross, and the crosses of the 
thieves who were put to death with him. By a striking 
miracle the True Cross is soon distinguished from the 
others, and becomes the object of the veneration due to 
it. Let us also lovingly pay homage to it, that we may 
advance in sanctity; and the better to dispose ourselves 
thereto, let us consider the different aspects under which 
faith presents it to our veneration. 

The cross of Jesus Christ is the sacred altar whereon 
the adorable Victim of our salvation was immolated, 
and the bloody sacrifice which satisfied divine justice 
for us and reconciled us with heaven, was consummated. 
It was on this wood that the Lamb, immolated from 
the beginning in intention and figure, was in reality 
sacrificed in the fulness of time. It was on this wood 

369 



370 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

that our divine Redeemer suffered every torment and 
all manner of ignominy, and through his lacerated veins 
poured forth all his blood. It was on this wood that 
he slept the sleep of death, during which, by means of 
a soldier's lance, he opened to us his side and his heart, 
in order to bestow upon us, with the last drop of his 
blood, all the treasures of his love. From the moment 
when his immolation was completed, we were no longer 
children of wrath ; for he had destroyed sin, vanquished 
hell, restored peace, and opened heaven. 

Let us then, at sight of the cross, remember the 
work accomplished thereon, and bless our loving Lord 
who became a Victim for us. Everything indeed pro- 
claims his love ; but nothing so eloquently as his cross : 
that sacred wood is the most expressive monument of his 
infinite charity. 

Whosoever truly loves, shows it by his devotedness to 
those whom he loves, by the sacrifice of his interests to 
theirs, and, if need be, by the sacrifice of his life. This 
is the last effort of love : for, says Jesus Christ, "Greater 
love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his 
life for his friends." 1 Now, of what does the cross re- 
mind us, if not of the most absolute devotedness of the 
Son of God to our interests, and the sacrifice that he 
made, even of his life, to save us from eternal death? 

The cross, which speaks to us so eloquently of the 
love of Jesus Christ for men, also makes known to us, 
in the most admirable manner, what it most concerns us 
to know and to practise; for it is a pulpit from which 
he imparts to us his most precious teachings. The cross 
reminds us of the goodness of God to us, and recalls 
x John xv. 13. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 371 

those words of the Savior: "God so loved the world as 
to give his only-begotten Son" x for its salvation. It 
instructs us as to the value of souls, the enormity of 
sin, and the rigor of divine justice. It teaches us to die 
to ourselves to live the life of the divine Crucified. 

The cross loudly proclaims the great precept of for- 
giving injuries, loving our enemies, and preserving that 
charity that ought to animate the faithful. And how 
is it possible to turn our eyes to that wood, without im- 
mediately recalling these maxims of our divine Master : 
"Love your enemies; do good to them that hate you, 
pray for those who persecute you ;" 2 "Love one another, 
as I have loved you \" 3 

Yes, from the cross we learn the most sublime and 
the most salutary teachings. Hence it is the book of 
the elect, and has been read with delight by St. Bernard, 
St. Francis of Assisi, St. Bonaventure, nay, by all the 
saints; for all have said, at least by their conduct, what 
St. Francis de Sales expressed by word of mouth: "It 
is good for us to be with the cross. Here it is that I 
will watch, and read, and meditate, having that divine 
book constantly before my eyes and in my thoughts, 
that I may learn from it the science of salvation." 

The saints contemplated the crucifix with faith, and 
their hearts were inflamed with charity, and their minds 
enlightened with the sublimest truths. We too would 
obtain like results if we studied its lessons with the 
same interior dispositions. The Savior's cross is the 
channel of grace. Placed between heaven and earth, it 
is the ladder by which our prayers ascend to God, and 
bring back to us their merciful answers. 
Mohn iii. 16. 2 Matt. v. 44. 3 John xiii. 34. 



372 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

The sight of the brazen serpent cured the bite of the 
fiery serpent : so does the contemplation of Jesus cruci- 
fied heal our spiritual maladies. How many desolate 
and discouraged souls have found, at the foot of the 
cross, consolation, hope, and grace to accomplish the 
greatest and most heroic sacrifices ! How many sinners, 
kneeling before the cross, have been purified by the 
divine blood which flowed down upon them from the 
dying Savior ! 

The cross is almost constantly before our eyes in our 
houses ; we carry it about us ; with it we sign our fore- 
head, our mouth, and our breast. We are, so to say, 
inseparable from the cross ; it will be placed in our hands 
at our last hour, it will be pressed to our dying lips, and 
in its presence we shall breathe our last sigh. After 
our death, it will be placed on our body, then over our 
grave, and thus, resting in its shadow, we shall await 
the day of our resurrection. 

Pondering these thoughts, let us, then, say : "Hail, 
Cross, our only hope !" 1 Thou art the ladder by which 
my soul will ascend to heaven ; the warrant of my justi- 
fication, by which I shall obtain mercy from the Su- 
preme Judge; the tree by which the evil committed 
under the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil, is 
fully repaired; the balance in which my Savior's merits 
outweigh my iniquities, and entitle me to eternal fe- 
licity ! 

APPLICATION 

Let us, in union with the Church, profoundly venerate 
the Savior's Cross : let us salute it with respect ; let us 
^jmn, Vexilla Regis. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 373 

honor it wherever we meet it ; let us teach our pupils to 
venerate it. Let us piously kiss our crucifix; let us 
contemplate it with deep emotion, and dwell on the 
many precious memories which it recalls to our minds ; 
let us unceasingly raise our hearts to Jesus immolating 
himself for us. 

Let us honor our spiritual crosses: let us conduct 
ourselves, in the troubles and afflictions of life, as be- 
comes true disciples of our Savior. Let us accept our 
crosses with resignation, thinking that they come to us 
from God, our good Father, who tries us only because 
he loves us, and who desires our happiness more than we 
ourselves can do. 

Let us bear them with patience, through love for 
Jesus, and with a view to imirate him. if we truly 
loved our sweet Savior, how we 'would appreciate every 
cross ! how fond we would be of it ! how we would bless 
it for making us conformed to him ! 

Moreover, what is our cross in comparison with his? 
He drained to the dregs the chalice of humiliation and 
sorrow for our sakes; can we, then, refuse to taste of 
it for his sake and to apply his merits to ourselves? 
As disciples of Jesus Christ, let us imitate our Master ; 
let us attach ourselves to the cross and remain there 
with him. Let us then be resigned, and even content 
and joyous, in imitation of the saints, saying with St. 
Teresa, "To suffer, or die;" or with St. Francis Xavier, 
"Yet more, Lord !" 

Let us offer our sufferings to God, with a view to 
adore him, to expiate our sins, and to draw down his 
graces, remembering that the prayers offered on the cross 
are most powerful over his sacred heart. 



374 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

PEAYEE 

Jesus, my divine Savior, who, by thy cross, didst 
redeem the world, give me grace to honor that sacred 
wood in a becoming manner. Grant, I beseech thee, 
that imitating thee in thy sufferings, I may attach 
myself to the cross with thee, to remain there till the 
day when by it I shall be raised to everlasting glory. 

Eesume, page 120. 

Blessed be the cross of Jesus Christ ! It is, 

1. The sacred altar on which the divine Victim was 
immolated. 

2. A monument of his love for us. 

3. A sublime pulpit; the book of the saints. 

4. A channel of grace, the hope of the faithful, our 
protection against divine justice, our title to justifica- 
tion. 

5. A ladder to heaven, by which we may ascend to 
God. 

— Let us honor it in union with the Church. But let 
us also honor the crosses that Jesus Christ wishes us 
to carry. 

1. Let us cheerfully accept all our pains and troubles. 

2. Let us learn to bear them for the love of Jesus 
Christ. 

3. Let us think of what he suffered for us. 

4. Let us not murmur like the bad thief, and wish to 
descend from our cross. 

5. Let us imitate the saints of all times,- and suffer 
without complaint. 



SIXTY-THIRD MEDITATION 
FIRST SUNDAY OF JULY— THE PRECIOUS BLOOD 

Lord, thou hast redeemed us in thy blood. — -Apoc. v. 9. 

CONSIDEBATION 

"We venerate the precious blood which Jesus, dying 
on the cross, shed for us through so many and such 
wounds." It is in these words that the Church, in her 
office, informs us of the object of this feast. "Let this 
day," she adds, "be a memorial for you, and let it be 
celebrated in all generations." 1 This day, in fact, com- 
memorates the shedding of the divine blood whereby we 
have been redeemed, a figurative and prophetic effusion, 
commenced, accomplished, yet mystically continued, and 
unceasingly producing its salutary effects. 

At the moment when the Son of God offered himself 
to his Father, saying: "Burnt-offering and sin-offering 
thou didst require ; then said I, 'Behold I come/ " 2 
he pledged himself to shed his blood in expiation for 
our sins ; and, as in intention he had already poured it 
forth, the apostle St. John calls him, "the Lamb which 
was slain from the beginning." 3 

To commemorate that engagement, and to prefigure 
its object, God willed that animals should everywhere 
be immolated, and that their blood should flow on the 

1 Office of the Precious Blood. 2 Ps. xxxix. 7, 8. 

3 Apoc. xiii. 8. 

375 



376 MEDITATIONS OX THE PASSION 

altars, under the knife of priests of his holy religion. 
He prescribed sacrifices symbolical of that which was 
to be accomplished on Calvary, and thus announced 
beforehand, the bloody immolation in which Jesus was 
to be both Priest and Victim. Let us also recall his 
prescription in reference to the Paschal lamb, and 
especially these words : "The blood shall be unto you for 
a sign in the houses where you shall be." * 

The prophets spoke of the shedding of the divine 
Blood. — "Who is this," says Isaias, "that cometh from 
Edom with dyed garments? Why is thy apparel red, 
and thy garments like theirs that tread in the wine- 
press ?" 2 The prophet Zachary, also speaking to the 
Lord, says : "Thou, also, by the blood of thy Testament 
hast sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit." 3 

When the time has come, the Son of God made man 
fulfils his engagement, realizes what had been pre- 
figured, and accomplishes what had been foretold of 
himself. Scarcely has he appeared among men, when 
he yields the first fruits of his blood under the knife of 
circumcision, and binds himself anew to shed every 
drop of it for mankind. 

When about to deliver himself to his enemies, he 
gives his blood, under the sacramental species, to his 
apostles who are seated at table with him, and tells 
them, as he presents the chalice which he has conse- 
crated: "Drink ye all of this, for this is my blood of 
the New Testament which shall be shed for many for 
the remission of sins." 4 He then repairs to the Garden 
of Olives, and falling into an agony, he sweats drops of 

x Exod. xii. 13. 2 Isai. lxiii. 1, 2. 3 Zach. ix. 11. 

4 Matt. xxvi. 27, 28. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 377 

blood, which penetrates his clothes and bedews the 
ground. Thus it is that the High Priest of the New Law 
enters into the sanctuary, not, like the high-priests of old, 
with the blood of goats or calves, but with his own blood. 1 

Soon Judas delivers up the innocent blood which he 
has sold for thirty pieces, and Jesus is in the power of 
the Jews who, in their turn, deliver him to Pilate. In 
the pretorium, the divine Victim pours forth his blood 
through the wounds made by the cruel scourges^ and 
the sharp crown of thorns. 

Let us accompany him to Calvary. We can trace his 
footprints, marked as they are with the blood which has 
fallen to the ground and is contemptuously trampled 
upon by the feet of the deicidal populace. With him 
let us hasten to the summit of the mountain, the place 
of the bloody sacrifice. The holy Victim is soon stretched 
on the altar; the veins of his hands and feet are burst 
by horrible blows, which cause the divine blood to gush 
forth, dyeing the hands and the feet of the executioners. 
The cross is then raised, and is quickly purpled by the 
blood of Jesus, which continues to flow, first in streams, 
then gradually diminishing in volume, until it trickles 
down drop by drop. And it is falling before the eyes 
of Mary, his Mother. tender Mother ! what anguish 
wrings thy heart at sight of that blood formed of thy 
substance ! No words of man can attempt to describe 
thy feelings. Finally, let us behold the soldier who, 
with a thrust of his lance, pierces the side and the heart 
of Jesus, and thus drains the last drop of the Eedeem- 
er's blood. 

The divine blood that was shed on Calvary still flows 
^eb. ix. 12. 



378 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

mystically on our altars, where it is really and substan- 
tially present. Everywhere and unceasingly it pleads 
with our heavenly Father, and produces the same effect 
as on Calvary. how admirable and how salutary is 
its influence ! But here let us allow the saints and the 
Church to speak. 

"The blood of Christ," says St. Paul, "will cleanse 
our conscience." 1 We find in Jesus Christ, by his blood, 
the remission of sins in which redemption consists: 2 
"the sprinkling of blood, which speaketh better than 
Abel." 3 "Being now justified by his blood, we shall be 
saved from wrath through him." 4 

The Apostle St. John says: "Jesus hath loved us, 
and washed us from our sins in his own blood." 5 The 
saints overcame the dragon "by the blood of the Lamb 
and by the word of their testimony." 6 

"The blood of Jesus Christ," says St. Chrysostom, 
"drives the devils away from us, and brings to our aid 
the angels and the Lord of angels. The destroying angel 
entered not where the blood of the paschal Lamb was 
sprinkled. What, then, can the angel of darkness do to 
such as are marked with the blood of the Lamb who 
taketh away the sins of the world?" 

"That blood which thou didst shed, wretched 
demon," says St. Augustine, "has vanquished thee, and 
ransomed me. Having drunk of it, I fear no more the 
malice of thy venom." 

"0 blood of Jesus Christ!" exclaims St. Bernard, 
"thou art on the altar a drink, on the cross our ransom, 
in heaven our defence with God." 

*Heb. ix. 14. *Col. i. 20. 3 Heb. xii. 24. 

4 Kom. v. 9. 5 Apoc. i. 5. B Ibid. xii. 11. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 379 

"Mankind," says holy Church, "expected but a dread 
misfortune, the fruit of the first Adam's crime ; but the 
new Adam, by his innocence and his love, has restored 
us to life. By his blood he has purchased for us an 
eternal redemption. The Father, disarmed, can no 
longer refuse pardon: and whosoever washes his defile- 
ment in that divine blood, acquires splendor and beauty, 
like unto that of the angels and fit to please the King 
of kings." » 

APPLICATION 

While entertaining ourselves with these holy and 
salutary thoughts, let us adore the divine Blood shed 
for our salvation ; let us profoundly venerate it in union 
with Mary adoring it on Calvary. Let us weep over our 
sins which rendered its effusion necessary. Let us 
remember that it is on account of our iniquities that 
Jesus Christ was crucified, and shed every drop of his 
blood. 

Let us love our generous Eedeemer; let us bless him 
for having made himself a victim in our place. "We 
venerate the precious blood that he sheds for our salva- 
tion: shall we refuse to mingle with it, at least, tears 
of gratitude ?" l 

Let us pray, in all confidence, to God the Father; 
for, through the blood of Jesus Christ, we have access 
to his heart : the blood of the new Abel indeed ascends 
to heaven, but it is to sue for mercy. Let us unite our 
prayer with the voice of its pleading, and we may be 
sure that we shall be heard. 

Office of the Precious Blood. 



380 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

Let us prepare well for holy Communion, for there 
the blood of Jesus is given us as the food of our souls. 
Let us receive it with pure and fervent hearts, that the 
saying of the divine Master may be accomplished in us : 
"He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath 
everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last 
day f 1 and that, admitted to share in his glory, we may 
say to him with the saints : "Lord, thou hast redeemed 
us in thy blood, and hast made us to our God a 
kingdom." 2 

PKAYEE 

Jesus, deign, we beseech thee, to assist thy servants 
whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood. 3 "And 
thou, almighty Father, be propitious unto us. Thou 
hast redeemed us by the blood of thine only Son; thou 
wilt reign with us by the grace of the holy Spirit. 
Vouchsafe to complete thy gifts by crowning us in 
heaven." 

Eesume, page 128. 

To-day we commemorate the shedding of the precious 
blood, 

1. Consented to from the beginning by the Word. 

2. Prefigured by that of the blood of victims; an- 
nounced by the prophets. 

3. Begun at the circumcision of Jesus Christ. 

4. Continued during the passion, consummated on the 
cross. 

5. Mystically and unceasingly reproduced on all the 
altars of the Christian world. 

6. Satisfying divine justice for us, and restoring our 
right to heaven. 

Mohn vi, 55. 2 Apoc. v. 9, 10. 3 Hymn Te Deum, 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 381 

— How can we dwell on these thoughts without com- 
prehending that we ought, 

1. To adore the precious blood shed for our salvation; 

2. To weep for our sins, which made that shedding 
necessary ; 

3. To love Jesus Christ, who became a victim for us; 

4. To pray with all confidences to God the Father, 
through his blood ; 

5. To prepare ourselves well for holy Communion, in 
which that blood is our nourishment, and becomes for 
us a principle of eternal life? 



SIXTY-FOURTH MEDITATION 

SEPTEMBER 14— EXALTATION OF THE HOLY 
CROSS 

God forbid that I should glory, but in the cross of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. — Gal. vi. 14. 

CONSIDEKATION 

Before the death of Jesus Christ, the cross was an 
instrument of sorrow and shame, — an infamous gibbet 
the very sight of which was dreaded. Indeed, nothing 
was considered more vile or contemptible than the cross. 
Now it is an object of profound veneration. People 
everywhere celebrate its greatness, singing with the 
Church : "The standard of the eternal Monarch is dis- 
played. On this wood, the Author of life received death, 
and b}^ his death gave us life. precious tree, resplend- 
ent with glory, chosen to touch the sacred members of 
the Savior, and stained with his adorable blood I" 1 "0 
cross more brilliant than all the stars, celebrated 
throughout all the earth, worthy of all honor from men, 
holier than all else that is holy, and alone worthy of 
bearing the world's ransom! wood worthy of love, 
that didst receive a Burden so precious, save the people 
assembled on this day to sing thy praises !" 2 

It has become the most glorious of all standards, the 

^ymn, Vexilla Regis. 2 0ffice of the Exaltation of the 

Holy Cross. 

382 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 383 

special sign of honor. It is now revered even more than 
it was once despised. Of how many diadems is it not 
the principal ornament? What homage has been ren- 
dered to it in the past and is still rendered to it to-day ! 
Let us call to mind the veneration in which it was held 
by the Emperor Heraclius, and which the Church com- 
memorates by the feast of this day. 

But why is the destiny of the cross so changed ? It is 
because the Son of God touched it with his hands, car- 
ried it on his shoulder, suffered upon it his last torments 
and purpled it with his blood. From that day it has 
held every title to the veneration of men and angels. 

The cross is the altar of the great sacrifice that was 
offered for the reconciliation of man with God; on it 
the divine Lamb, whose death is our redemption and 
our life, was immolated; on it he who is both Priest 
and Victim, shed his blood for the glory of God his 
Father and the remission of our sins. 

The cross is the wood, announced by the prophet, by 
which justice cometh. 1 It is the balance whereon the 
divine body which is the worlds ransom, far outweighed 
the spoils of hell. 2 

The cross is the tree that has repaired all the ills of 
which the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was the 
source. Through the latter, man was made the slave of 
pride, covetousness, and sensuality, and became subject 
to death of soul and body ; through the former, he immo- 
lates the triple concupiscence and recovers the life that 
was lost. 

The cross is the triumphal chariot of our divine 
Savior ; it was from it that he vanquished the devil, and 
'Wisd. xiv. 7. 2 Hymn, Vexilla Begis. 



384 MEDITATIONS ON" THE PASSION 

destroyed the empire of darkness. Hence does the 
Church say: "Publish amongst the nations that the 
Lord triumphs by the wood." * "Behold the cross of 
the Lord : fly, hostile bands !" 2 

The cross is a beacon reminding those who sail 
on the sea of this world, of him who is the true 
Light. It is the throne of the new Solomon, whence 
he rules over all the earth, and teaches nations true 
wisdom. 

Jesus Christ humbled himself, and therefore did his 
Father exalt him, 3 give him all nations as an inheritance, 4 
and make him King over all. 5 But, it is on the cross 
that Christ exercises his dominion; "He rules by 
the wood," 6 says the Church, recalling the words of 
David. 

The cross is the standard of the supreme Monarch, 
planted in the sight of all men, around which rally the 
elect. Before it all other standards shall be lowered. 
It alone shall survive the destruction of the world, and 
be seen radiant in the heavens by all generations of men. 
It is the sign of the Son of Man, 7 which at the last day, 
shall fill the wicked with terror, whilst it shall be the 
joy and the consolation of the just. 

The cross, says St. Augustine, is not only the sacred 
altar on which Jesus was immolated; it is the pulpit 
from which he instructs us. Prom it he preaches most 
eloquently, lessons of humility, meekness, patience, par- 
don of our enemies, self-denial, devotion, constancy, — 
in a word, all virtues, for on the cross he practises them 

a Hynm, Vexilla Eegis. 2 Office of the Exaltation of tne 

Holy Cross. 3 Phil. ii. 8. 4 Ps. ii. 8. 5 Ibid. 9. 

6 Hymn, Vexilla Eegis. 7 Matt. xxiv. 30. 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 385 

all in their most sublime perfection. Prom it he tells 
us: "You call me Master and Lord; for I have given 
you an example," * — will you refuse to follow it, you who 
are my disciples ? 

"From the cross," says St. Leo, "the Savior rebukes 
the effeminacy of worldlings by his sufferings; their 
inordinate love of riches, by his destitution ; their pomp 
and their pride, by his humility." Thence he beautifies 
poverty, humiliations, and tears ; he is there the pattern 
shown us on the mountain, 2 to which we must be con- 
formed. Happy are they who hear and practise these 
divine lessons, and who can say with the Apostle that 
they glory only in the cross of Christ crucified. 3 

The cross is the bond of union between heaven and 
earth : by it the divine mercy comes to us ; by it we go 
to God. Jesus on the cross draws souls to himself and 
raises them to his Father, according to his promise: 
"When I shall be lifted up from earth, I will draw all 
things to myself." 4 

The cross is the monument of Christ's love for men : 
and how grandly it testifies to his charity ! It tells us 
that he so loved us as to "be made a curse for us," 5 to 
suffer every pain, to shed all his blood, and to give his 
life for our salvation. It reminds us that his love was 
stronger than death ; that when his heart had ceased to 
beat, it was still so consumed with love for us, as to give 
us a pledge thereof, by pouring forth through its gaping 
wound the last drops of redeeming blood. 

The cross is the symbol of our belief, the distinctive 
sign of Christians, the foundation of our hope, the fuel 

iJohn xiii. 13, 15. 2 Exod. xxv. 40. 3 Gal. vi. 14. 

4 John xii. 32. 5 Gal. iii. 13. 



386 MEDITATIONS ON THE PASSION 

of our charity, the source of the greatest good} We must 
then bless, exalt, and glorify it, and make known to men 
this admirable invention of God's justice and mercy. 

APPLICATION 

Let us render due worship to the cross. Let us salute 
it with respect. Let us help to procure for it both honor 
and respect, as indeed our profession demands. Let 
us make the sign of the cross with faith and devotion: 
let us arm ourselves with it in temptation, remembering 
that by this sign we conquer the enemy of our salvation. 
Let us carry the crucifix religiously about us. After 
the example of the saints, let us press it to our hearts, 
kiss it with affection, contemplate it with piety, meditate 
on the facts which it recalls, and nourish therewith both 
mind and heart. 

Let us revive our love for Jesus Christ and our grati- 
tude to him. The cross tells us how he has loved us: 
should it not tell us how we ought to love him and 
devote ourselves to his glory ? 

Let us beg of Jesus crucified the grace to honor his 
holy cross by our love and esteem for the spiritual cross 
which he has destined for us. Let us reflect that the 
latter — how repugnant soever it may be to our nature — 
is a proof of divine goodness, a testimonial of the love 
of Jesus for us, an indication of the way by which he 
wishes to lead us to heaven. 

Let us accept it, therefore, with resignation, and say 
with all the saints: "0 Cross, thou art my hope, my 
consolation, and my joy ! Be my bed of rest. On thee 
I wish to live and die !" 



OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 387 

PEAYEK 

Divine Savior, who callest me to imitate thee and to 
share in the glory which thou hast acquired by thy 
labors and sufferings, give me patience in the troubles 
and adversities of life. Grant that, contemplating the 
crucifix, I may attach myself to the cross with thee, 
there to remain until I shall be admitted to thy eternal 
kingdom. 

Eesume, page 142. 

From an instrument of opprobrium, the cross has be- 
come a monument of glory, because : 

1. Jesus Christ touched it, and sanctified it with his 
blood. 

2. It is the altar of the great sacrifice. 

3. It is the throne of the new Solomon, the chair of 
supreme Wisdom, the link between heaven and earth. 

4. It proclaims everywhere the immense love of Jesus 
Christ for us. 

5. It is the symbol of our faith, the motive of our 
hope, the nourishment of our charity. 

— Let us then venerate the cross and, to that end, 

1. Honor it wherever we meet it. 

2. Always carry the crucifix about us. 

3. Meditate on the facts of which it reminds us. 

4. Love with our whole heart our crucified Lord. 

5. Ask him for humility and love of the cross. 



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